19 July 2012 / by Radmila Gurkova

The Ghosts of Spain

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apQkjjcqGnI

When you go aborad, which airport do you normally use? Do you know how many airports there are in Spain? Do you think there are too many? Have a look at this video and read a related news story...

Have you heard about the billion euro airport designed during Spain's booming economy, serving both city and coast via a state-of-the-art high speed train link? Ciudad Real's transport hub was to be a symbol of modern Spain's affluence. However, it shut down in April after just three years of operation and a cost of €1.1 billion.

The peninsula is also littered with 'ghost towns' - where empty apartment blocks, streets and gardens stand where communities were supposed to move. Entire housing estates built during the country's boom years have been left abandoned, now on sale for almost half their original price.

The town of Sesena, dubbed the Manhattan of Madrid for its towering apartments, proximity to the capital and capacity for 30, 000 people to live is now one of the most visible monuments of the country's boom gone bust.

Such modern-day ghost towns have become a familiar part of the Spanish landscape.

What do you think about these issues? What can be done to help Spain recover?

 

07

November 2014
7 Questions for ESL Teachers to Change ESL Education
by Radmila Gurkova
My name is Liz Ward. I am an Australian teacher with over 30 ...

24

October 2014
7 Questions for ESL Teachers to Change Education
by Radmila Gurkova
My name is Bridget Berry. I’m American – I grew up right outside of Washington, D.C. in the state of Virginia. I graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor’s degree in English with a focus in secondary educati...

17

October 2014
7 Questions for ESL Teachers to Change Education
by Radmila Gurkova
We interviewed Virginia Roquero, a 22 year old recent TEFL graduate from Spain, whose education, due to a British mother and a Spanish father, has been developed in two languages from the very first day of life. Despite her youth, Virgi...

10

October 2014
Teaching ESL to Young Learners and Teenagers
by Radmila Gurkova
What are the best approaches and strategies to teaching ESL to young learners and teenagers? The question is relevant enough and  worth dedicating a lot of specific attention to. More than a list of tips, we teachers need to understand what is our youngest target audience is like: what defines young learners, pre-adolescents ...

19

September 2014
Teaching is Art and Art in Teaching
by Radmila Gurkova
A talented teacher is how we usually define a vocational teacher who connects with their students and conveys the message in a clear and engaging way. Having a talent for teaching is what we look for when choosing professionals for our ESL classes. We love teachers that have the talent of teaching a...

12

September 2014
Transmitting in the Classroom. What we can take from classical music.
by John Shepherd
Whether it be listening to a film director talking about his new blockbuster creation, or watching a protestor stand at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park and tell us about what is wrong with the world, we are transfixed by the same common denominator, passion. Used correctly, passion can transfix an audience, leave a crowd mesmerised...

05

September 2014
Learning environments for young learners in English
by Radmila Gurkova
...

15

July 2014
Become an ESL teacher in Barcelona, get this life!
by Radmila Gurkova
Becoming an ESL teacher in Barcelona and living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world is a dream of many people. Making it come true is not so difficult if you are a native English speaker and you love languages and working with people. You can take advantage of your English language and peoples skills and become en ESL teacher. ...

25

June 2014
Eleven great years teaching English. And counting...
by Radmila Gurkova
...

18

June 2014
Use the news in ESL activities. World cup inspiration.
by Radmila Gurkova
A great way of filling your ESL classes with a fresh air is choosing activities based on current news. Use the news in ESL activities is an approach that we will be displaying through examples of teacher friendly ESL topic activities prepared by our teachers. Based on breaking news and current events, the ESL activities based...