Class 25

16 Maio 2016, 12:00 • Nicholas John Csargo

A student presented on the song cultural artifact "Locked Away" by R city.  The song's message examined the struggles of the impoverished in the U.S. and the difficult decisions they have to make in order to pay their bills.  The music video was in a narrative style and the message of the video was compared with that of the song.  The universal nature of music and how it can be used for language learning was also discussed.

Class 24

11 Maio 2016, 12:00 • Nicholas John Csargo

Students read the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Vonnegut answered comprehension questions on the work and discussed the author's message and use of satire. After discussing the story and it's meaning students watched the short film based on the work entitled "2081" to examine the differences between the two works.

Class 23

9 Maio 2016, 12:00 • Nicholas John Csargo

Students were given a lecture on the American author Kurt Vonnegut and the literary device of satire.  Students then read the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Vonnegut answered comprehension questions on the work and discussed the author's message and use of satire.  A student also presented on the cultural artifact, Gran Torino, a film discussing one of the many ethnic groups in the U.S. (the Hmong), their history and their integration to american culture.  The themes of the cultural hybridity of the U.S. and loss of one's native culture were also examined. (inglês)

Class 22

4 Maio 2016, 12:00 • Nicholas John Csargo

Students gave presentations on two different cultural artifacts today.  The first presentation had to deal with the film, The Pursuit of Happyness.  The film's story and message was examined and the presenter showed how the film represents the idea of the American Dream.  The presenter then discussed the job interview and internship process in the U.S. and made comparisons with the process in Portugal. Discussion ensued on student experience with job interviews and seeing that many students would be graduating and had little to no experience with job interviews or applying for jobs we decided our final lessons would be a workshop on CVs, cover letters, and job interviews. The next presentation was on a website cultural artifact, "Non-Toxic Dragon Age Confessions." The presentations provided an introduction to the cultural community of gamers in the U.S. and Portugal, improving our English through gaming and online interactions, and the use of this website to connect with people the world over to improve our English skills as well.

Class 21

2 Maio 2016, 12:00 • Nicholas John Csargo

Students presented on three different cultural artifacts today the first being the film "The Breakfast Club." The film was examined as was it's portrayal of American high schools and their students.  Comparisons were drawn between American and Portuguese high school environments.  In the same vein we continued our discussion of different personalities in the following presentation which was a cultural artifact known as they Meyers-Briggs personality test (website) and how knowledge of our personality type can be beneficial in our personal and professional lives.  Students discussed their varying personality types after being conducting a brief test and how they would use this knowledge in their future career choices.  Lastly a song cultural artifact was discussed, "Innuendo" by Queen.  The historical context and history of the band was discussed as were the song lyrics and music video.