Catherine of Aragon, Queen Consort of England

Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), is a household name in England, as her marriage to Henry VIII was the first and the longest in a string of six tumultous marriages, but, the Spanish Infanta is, arguably, less known in Spain, as she failed to fulfil her royal duty bestowed upon her by her father, Ferdinand II of Aragon: to produce an uncontested heir to the English Crown that would embody a solid and lasting diplomatic alliance between the kingdoms of Spain and England in the early 16th century, when France emerged as a common rival.

Catherine's marriage to Henry lasted from 1509 to 1533, when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Crammer declared Henry's marriage to Catherine "null and void", which allowed Henry to marry young Anne Boleyn -with family ties to France, and undoubtedly contributed to the separation of the English Church from the Roman Catholic Church. Despite the terrible blow to her royal dignity, Catherine never gave up her claim and spent her entire life fighting hard for the right of their daughter, Mary, to be the legitimate heir to Henry's throne. Several authors have recently vindicated Catherine of Aragon as a well-educated and empowered woman, who led the country in military campaigns against the Scots (1513), while Henry was fighting in France, and who fostered bold social reforms in the English court: Catherine was a patron of Renaissance humanists like Erasmus of Rotterdam, Sir Thomas More and Juan Luis Vives, the Spanish scholar who wrote The Education of a Christian Woman, a treatise that "advocates education for all women regardless of social class and ability" -Catherine herself opened several colleges for women when she was Queen consort; she impressed Londoners with contemporary Spanish fashion and she also "started an extended programme for the relief of the poor", which made Catherine a very popular Queen consort in England and abroad, despite her estrangement from Henry.

Next you can find a lesson plan with listening and speaking tasks, key and the script in Word and in PDF formats for C1 students, extracted from the interview that Giles Tremlett gave to Jane Garvey in Woman's Hour (BBC Radio-4) after the publication of his book Catherine of Aragon, Henry's Spanish Queen, back in 2010. Next is the clip with the audio recording (03':45") for the listening task. If you want to listen to the full interview, here is a recording of the whole interview (10':56") without a script. In addition, and just out of curiosity, you can find a review of the book from The Guardian newspaper in Word and in  PDF formats. Some expressions C1 learners will find in the listening task are: to be allocated to [other monarchs], fate, to take something in your stride, dowry, an eating disorder, to fast, to bear [a child], pious, a steely [character], submissive, obstinate.

But the interest in Catherine of Aragon has not waned over the years. Last week, the highly successful discussion programme In Our Time on BBC Radio 4, devoted a brand new episode to Catherine of Aragon: In Our Time, Feb. 2025 with host Melvyn Bragg and a panel of three top academics on Early Modern History: Lucy Wooding, from Oxford University, María Hayward, from the University of Southampton, and Gonzalo Velasco Berenguer, from the University of Bristol. This is a long radio programme (53') which contains very rich language without a script, so, it is recommended for C2 students and for Experts (Ex) or teachers who want to learn about Tudor England and Early Modern Spain. The list of salient words and collocations below can be used as a listening guide for lower level students.

Some expressions learners can pick up from the In Our Time radio programme are: to engage in, formidable [skills], fellow, born to [greatness], a monarch, to lay the foundation, a superpower, the lesser [partner], a throne, a half-sister, resilient, a prime [example], to rally [the troops], [to survive to] adulthood, pious, to betroth [children], [to seek an] alliance, a contested [succession crisis], betrothal, to bolster, a deficient [education], a patron of [humanists], a retinue, pageant, a hood, a gown, pleated, [bands of] cane, to send [him] off, to jeopardize [their childbearing potential], to rake [mercilessly], a maiden, a deeply religious [woman], to consummate [a marriage], dowager [princess], dowry, to be at loggerheads, to befit [a Infanta], in cahoots with [the Queen of England], very vocal, self-assertive, outspoken, to drift, a tussel, her piety, [religious] observant, to fast, Infanta [of Spain], linen, brocade [dresses], a warm and affectionate relationship, to feel warmly to one another, exuberant, athletic, a reassuring [presence], raw, glamour, to joust, joie de vivre, a courtly love [convention], to lay her triumphs at her feet, [to court] mask, to throw off [his disguise], to conduct herself [as Queen], devout, arguably, a relief [army], armour, [to buy] supplies, a bloodied [coat], to sew [banners], domesticated and martial [themes], to push forward [the Spanish] agenda, a beacon [for Spanish interests], wool trade, in a vacuum, to intermarry, weary, a debacle, to stew, the kingdom of Navarre, to add insult to injury, to mutiny, to rebuff [an attempt], an annulment, feisty, to wield [authority], [queen] regnant, to be perturbed, [to become] an issue, more ugly than not, [religious] viability, [not without] precedent, appalling, [royal] dignity, reluctant, more telling, to groom [his illegitimate child], a [royal] bride, a role model, [Spanish] heritage, a treatise, to draw up [a plan of education], to be depicted, her upbringing, a shift, patronage, [to give it a new] spin, the dispensation, double-binding, to dispense [a marriage], determination, to engage with [the best intellects], [to support her] corner, an [intellectual] tussle, Papal [authority], to wrangle [around that], God-given [authority], to take a stand, to be interwoven, scandalous, for the sake of [her daughter], to be vanished, a watershed [moment], a dispute, to have the upper-hand, more poignantly, to repeal [a law], her will, to be addressed, [princess] dowager, discreet life, a manor [house], to command [popular support], to nurse [her daughter], vindictive, a bearing, a cooling [of relations], an uneasy [relation], to gather [support], a moving [letter], a hint [of steel], a concubine, a heartbreaking [sentence], astonishing, appallingly, sense of duty, longevity, regent, to set [the model], uncaring [son], [not a] catch, mean, to pass the buck, to make out, wordy [letters], fury, her misfortunes, he is to blame, a flamboyant [dresser], to offset [the complaints], a [last minute] reversal, a cipher, to quail, [politically] apt, dour, sarcastic, impeccably [dressed], the Field of the Cloth of Gold, a makeshift [city], a [wine] fountain, to herald [lasting peace], an encounter, a wrestling [match], [to go] rough, awkward, to smooth things over, the woodcut, a pomergranate, regalia, a robe, a [queen] regnant.

If you want to watch a video with Catherine's story, you can watch "The Warrior Queen Married to Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's First Wife" (2023) below, which can be recommended for C1 students.

Floods in Spain & Climate Change Summit

Valencia suffered the worst floods in history two weeks ago, with a death toll of 224 people in two regions so far, and Malaga has just suffered heavy rains and limited floods, while the COP29 climate meeting has recently opened in Azerbaijan.

Here you can listen to several audio clips from Today (14/11/24), on BBC Radio-4, and discuss climate change and natural disasters. First, you can listen to an interview to Jacqui Ross (03:52), who has suffered the most recent floods in Malaga and another interview to climate scientist Simon Lewis (03:23), explaining why extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, and you can do two listening tasks and a discussion. The tasks are suitable for C1 students and above, who will come across words, in Jacqui Ross's, like: lash, awashed, disrupted, bracing [for], heavy [rain], to wash away, flooded [streets], [animal] rescue, to clear up, to step out, wellington boots, a tsunami, clearance, to burst its banks, sheer [quantity of rain], to fare, travails, to be prompted, drought. In Simon Lewis: fossil fuel [emissions], [extreme weather] events, moisture, downpours, the bigger picture, to withstand, a heat wave, a backlash, harsh, to get to grips [with].

Today also covered the floods in Valencia on 01/11/24:  here you can find a short news bulletin (01:24), and then you can listen to a longer eyewitness report by Bethany Bell with an interview to a local volunteer Paco Pola (05:29), who describe the devastation, the helplessness and the first rescue efforts by volunteers right after the disaster (you can see some images of the devastation here).  You can do a listening and speaking task for B2 students and above, who will come across interesting words like: surreal, flashed floods, swept away, eyewitness, to pile up, debris, a chest, a lightning flash, officials, utter [devastation], [action] to ensue, to set off.

For further information, you can read an article by environment correspondent Matt MacGrath, Scientists Say Climate Change Made Spanish Floods Worse, or read Aljazeera's report on the U.N. climate meeting in Azerbaijan, COP29 Azerbaijan: What's at stake at the 2024 climate summit?.

Chimpanzees Seek Out Medicinal Plants & Iberian Lynxes Recover

BBC Radio 4 broadcaster Mishal Husain interviews Dr. Elodie Freymann on Today programme about how chimpanzees seek out medicinal plants when they feel sick or wounded. The words in this interview clip (4:06) are colloquial, B2 level or so, but radio interviews are usually rather fast for the time pressures of news programmes, which makes it more difficult for foreign learners to segment speech and understand indivual words, so here you can find a listening comprehension task with its key and a follow-up discussion for C1 students. 

The radio recording has no script, but you can use the list of interesting words to follow the interview, after doing the comprehension task: to seek out, a lead [researcher], to tick, wounds, to go out of their way, rare, super [exciting], [plant] samples, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, to expand, [medicinal] repertoire, to clutch [your stomach], to sneeze, to cough, respiratory [infection], non-invasive, [abnormal] metrics, to quantify [parasites], neophobic, to raise alarm bells, [next] wave, self-medication, a step [to start from], [specific pharmaceutical] compounds, to pinpoint, a [fast] recovery.

If you want further information, you can also check out Victoria Gill's report for BBC News "Chimpanzees self-medicate with healing plants",
which provides new details about Dr. Elodie Freymann's research and it is, problably, the original source for the radio interview above. This article is suitable for B2 students.

Another interesting environment story today on BBC News is the report by Malu Cursino "One of the world's rarest cats no longer endangered", which talks about the Iberian lynx and the recovery in the numbers of this "vulnerable" species, after the latest success in conservation efforts. This article can also be accessed by B2 learners.

Meditation in Science and Mindfulness at School

Meditation has been practised for centuries by various religious traditions to have a break from mundane pressures and to ease your worries. Lately, meditation has become increasingly popular among non-religious people as a way to focus your mind, and cope with stress and anxiety.  The article "Does meditation actually work? This is what the science says" by Judhijit Bhattacharjee on National Geographic explores how some scientific studies are trying to shed light on the benefits of meditation for mental health. This article is conceptually complex at times so, it is suitable for C1 students, who will encounter formal words like: to settle down, a [floor] mat, a worship [room], a deity, a throne, a [prayer] bead, to chant, a whisper, to enhance, [to be] rooted, a quest, enlightenment, to conduct [a study], to trigger [anxiety], to glow, mild, to shed [a fearful response], a [brain] scan, an MRI scan, to rely on [someting], a headband, rife [with stress], to strive [to apply it], a wispy [beard], assault, wrestling, flustered.

Many U.S. and British schools offer mindfulness programmes and apps to help kids concentrate and overcome negative emotions. You can listen to NPR's report "To help these school kids deal with trauma, mindfulness lessons over the loudspeaker" (6:34) by Pien Huang to learn more about how mindfulness practice is implemented in a Florida public school. This radio article can be accessible to B2+ students with the script and C1 learners without it, who will find interesting colloquial phrasal verbs and expressions like: loudspeaker, to cope with, packed, to hang out, to catch up, [apple] strudel, a wrapper, a [banana] peel, to line [the kids] up, to assemble, [your body is] still, to focus, homelessness, increasingly [popular], to shrink [the brain], a trait, to enhance [well-being], to show up [in school], forgiveness, to fidget, to let [that] go, to relieve [stress], to take it out on [somebody], an assignment, to draw on [something], to distill [the teachings], to tune into [sounds], to handle [sense awareness], to be dragged [around] [by their thoughts], [to feel] empowered, to scale up, a [shark] fin, to shape up [well], to hug, to high-five, to applaud, to have a hard time.

If you can find a partner to talk to, here you can find some Conversation Questions about "Meditation", from ESL Conversation Topics, with vocabulary to activate during the conversation. This speaking task can be done by B2+ students and above.

For extra information, you can read Rebecca Deurlein's article "Quieting your mind to meditate can be hard. Here's how sound can help", also on National Geographic, about the use of sound therapy to reduce stress.

"Dear Life", by Alice Munro (1931- 2024)

Alice Munro, the short-story writer and the winner of the 2013 Nobel prize has died aged 92, you can read her obituary and listen to a compilation of interview clips on "Alice Munro, Canadian author who mastered the short story, dead at 92", written by Rhianna Schmunk for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Alice Munro was a small town girl, a mother of three girls, a bookshop owner and a writer in her free time, until her literary success took up most of her time in her mid-forties and eventually was hailed as "a master of the short story" by the judges of the Nobel prize for Literature. Three of her short stories, Chance, Soon and Silence, from her book Runaway, were made into Almodovar's film "Julieta". 

Her stories are often set in Huron County, in rural Ontario, they deal about human existence, moral conflict and revelation and they can be a first step for C1 learners to start reading authentic, unabridged fiction. Here you can find her memoir, "Dear Life. A Childhood Visitation", with a reading comprehension task & its key for C1 learners, who will find descriptive words and collocations like: to pull off, rickety, a mill race, contempt, unsoiled, a Highland fling, clicking [shoes], to dig [dug, dug], a well, to drill, to honk, to summon, shuddering, a crinkly [smile], a [drinking] pail, a trapline, an [animal] pen, a hayfield, to cull [animals], manure, to tell on [somebody], jolly, to dawn on [somebody], to dwindle, downsloping,a cedar [tree], troll, a miscarriage, a flurry, a dumbwaiter, hemstitching, to pelt [the foxes], a downturn, molten [metal], a [metal] mold, to buckle down to [something], to cram [my head with knowledge], a quavery [voice], a hatchet, to wring [clothes], a misgiving, to keep tabs on [somebody/ something], to grab, to tilt, clatter, a haphazard [way], to wedge, to bang, to rattle, distraught, to stare, a [wild] grin, a [river] flat, to muddy [up], to commend [Nature], to whale [the unkindness] out of [me], to beat the tar out of [me], to dispose of [a house], for dear life, to spot [somebody].

Alice Munro published several of her short stories in The New Yorker. For further background into her life you can read the interview she gave to The New Yorker when she published her last book "Dear Life" in 2012: "On 'Dear Life': An Interview with Alice Munro". 

Apart from the above-mentioned interview videos in her CBC obituary, "Alice Munro, Canadian author who mastered the short story, dead at 92", you can watch below the conversation she had with Kyle Lanningham right after she received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. This interview with subtitles is also accessible to C1 students.

AI's potential Threats (to Privacy, U.S. National Security, Elections & Equality)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the buzz word at the turn of this new year. Everybody is exploring the opportunities that the hottest apps, namely Chat GPT, Bing or Bard, offer to improve performance in their jobs. In the previous post, we learnt that the major consumer electronics companies presented an array of AI powered appliances at CES 2024 Las Vegas. In this post we are going to look at some of the concerns that AI is raising in a number of areas, from espionage to personal freedom. 

Lesson plan tip: these interviews and articles can be used as background information for a "flipped-classroom" homework task: each student chooses one story and listens to it during the weekend. Then, on Monday, students share a short oral summary of the interview in small groups of up to 4 students and they talk about some of the key words they have learnt. After that, they can discuss the opportunities and the threats that AI offers, for example with the "For & Against" list published by Phoebe Reynolds in English Teachers Around the World (Facebook). It is a simple, but challenging information gap activity to practice authentic listening/ reading, speaking, summarizing, debating and to activate passive vocabulary. 

***

If you are interested in face-recognition technology, you can start by reading the Digital Trends article Clear View AI's facial-recognition app is a nightmare for stalking victims about Clear View, an app that can identify an individual with minimal information, and it is widely used by government and law-enforcement agencies to search for criminals. But the power of Clear View can be used for the wrong purposes in the hands of authoritarian governments or wrongdoers, as you can learn if you listen to Fresh Air's interview to New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill, Inside the Secretive AI Company that Knows your Face. C1 students can read the Digital Trends text first to build up background information and they will find interesting words like: to stalk, hubris, a startup, to snap [a photo], a creep, a boon, a stalker, a nefarious [purpose], a statement, to monetize, to scrape [information], to track [somebody] down, to harass, a flaw, a stark [increase], an ongoing [problem], disruptive [tech], to launch, [sexual] assault, to misuse, to rape). The 42 minute NPR interview with a script is recommended for C2 students who will encounter interesting words like: to unlock [a phone], to scrape [photos], to log into [an app], a beat (area), a [tech] dystopia, Planned Parenthood, to harass, creepy, to wield, chilling, to name and shame, a restroom, to blend in [with the population], a corpse, [to turn the] tide, the toll, an outlet, bodybuilding, workout, a counter, the breadcrumb, state-of-the-art [technology], to be pulled over [by the police], a warrant, larceny, bewildered, a gang, a consignment store, [surveillance] footage, a bunch of [photos], [the charges (law)] to be dropped, shoplifting, [to be in the] lineup, faulty, wrongfully [arrested], [a technological] breakthrough, to rig up, the brim [of a baseball cap], countless [photos], a building block, a cease-and-desist [letter], a whim, to harness [the benefits], to track [someone], to harvest, a seasoned [consultant], a vintage [store], a dive bar, astounding, buggy, to pitch [this technology], a venue, to sue, to hang out with [artists], to shift, to be anointed [the candidate], nefarious [purposes], a fine-tuned [technology], a rioter, to storm [the Capitol], the blowback, to let the cat out of the bag. 

AI tools have long been utilized in cyberwar and espionage. In How AI is Transforming National Security,  Mary Louise Kelly interviews FBI Director Chris Wray and U.S. National Security Agency Director, Paul Nakasone for NPR's Consider This Podcast. The segment lasts 11 minutes and has a script, so, it can be easily accessible to C1 students and above. You will come across interesting words like: a thriller, sneaker, [under] siege, to hack into [computers], to compromise [data], a go-to [tool], devastating [consequences], to ponder, on the flip side, cyber snooping, a formidable [adversary], ransomware, penchant, overreach, what makes [it] tick, a stride.

If you want further information about the race and gender bias of facial recognition tech, you can listen to the Fresh Air interview  Unmasking AI's racism and sexism where the computer scientist and founder of the Algorithmic Justice League, Joy Buolamwini, explains the inbuilt biasses of AI's algorithms.  This is a long, 37 minute interview with a script, so it can be recommended for C2 students, where they will find interesting words like: the male gaze, the coded gaze, to coin [a term], grad school, a glitch, [to issue] an executive order, a landmark [executive order], to endow, fanciful, to debug, to bake in [priorities], messiness, mahogany, a windfall, to floor, a nuance, a slew [of letters], overreliance, to misgender, a benchmark, to take steps, to regulate, a class-action lawsuit, an opt-in [program], to opt-out, groundbreaking [technology], to label, to speak up, a burden, to come off [like an angry black woman], a gimmick, a stake, a gasp, to dip my toe into[something], a hoax, a fraudster, a fallback, a high-paying [job], a low-paying [job], an inmate.

If you want to know how AI tools can be used in modern political campaigns, including deepfake videos, you can listen to AI's Influence on Election 2024  where radio host Meghna Chakrabarti has a conversation with several experts, including Darrell West, author of the book How AI Will Transform the 2024 Elections, for her WBUR (Boston) programme On Point. This 47 minute radio show is fast and very complex audio, due to the references to domestic American politics, and because it deals with several topics in a row, which limits the help that a single context can offer to learners of English, so, although there is a script, it is recommended for teachers and Experts (Ex), above C2 level.  Some key words you will find are: a bill, sparsely, a giveaway, a deepfake [video], a disclaimer, malarkey, heck, to utter [a word], to wreak havoc, a bribe, [highly] polarized, to endorse [a candidate], tinny, shady, a caretaker, to curb [the use of harmful AI content], grass roots [level], a deterrent, a loophole, the boogeyman, to pass the legal muster, to reach out [to voters], to level the playing field, to cast [a vote], to crack down on [misinformation], a purveyor [of this information], wary, to flag [instances of virality], a circuit breaker, mainstream, to open the floodgates, to triple check [information].