EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

The answer is yes, we can but there is no point in doing so since no one else does. and even if we decided to go and say: "Merry New Year!" the response we would get is an expression of ssurprise on the face of our interlocutor like saying "What?" Let's begin by saying that for all celebrations we only use the word Happy. We say Happy Easter, Happy Halloween, Happy Birthday and so on. The only time when we use the word Merry before a holiday is when we say "Merry Christmas!" Some people say "it doesn't sound right to say Merry New Year". Curiously enough it is ok to say "Happy Christmas!" (at least in England) but only if you are going to wish a happy Christmas and leave New Year's Eve for a later occassion (provided that you are going to meet that person again before New Year's and after Christmas). Perhaps it is the proximity in between both holidays what causes all this problem. Our necessity to wish the be...

This is a movie that should not be taken lightly because there is a lot of philosophical background behind it. The reason for that is that it is based on a novel of the same title by American writer, Orson Scott Card. It won both the Nebula and the Hugo awards in 1985 and 1986 respectively and those are the two most prestigious prizes awarded to only the best Science Fiction stories and though a story about the future Ender's Game is also a reflection of the time when it was written, the mid eighties. It has finally been adapted to the big screen and the result is really consistent. This is a future where Earth has been invaded already by aliens that mindlessly killed millions of people. The invasion was averted but only barely and for fifty years those same aliens have not come back. In all that time mankind has been preparing for a new attack and the authorities have decided that to prevent a new attack Earth will attack first. In view of that they have re imagined their mi...

"Ok, then. eleven more days to go!" Apparently, there are eleven more.  This may be a bit difficult to understand since we are said there is only one Christmas Day and that is December 25th, but really this is a longer celebration. This all happens because of the different meanings of the  words we use in both languages: in Spanish we call December 25th , Navidad which is the same as Natividad or Birth in English. Christmas comes from the expression Christ's Mass indicating that there is more to this holiday than only Christ's Birth. His birth is, of course, important but is only the first day of a long period that begins with December 25th and finishes on January 5th. These Twelve Days are called Christmastide and in a way, each one is also a Christmas Day. This is referred to in the famous Christmas carol called "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

This article is not about the meaning of Christmas per se. About that a lot has already been said and done .  It is the real meaning of the word and not the tradition what we will see here, and of course that means consulting the Etymology of that term.  Unlike the Spanish word which is NAVIDAD or NATIVIDAD (Birth in English), in English they call this holiday  Christ's Mass . Mass in this case means Celebration. In other words, CHRISTMAS really means THE CELEBRATION OF CHRIST (The Messiah).  It makes sense since the coming of a saviour must always be cause of celebration and of course that celebration begins with his birth.

Massacre of the Innocents by Reubens The best term would be THE INNOCENTS' DAY (also HOLY INNOCENTS' DAY) and it is remembered by the Roman Catholic Church on December 28th. Other religious denominations also commemorate the same event but on different dates though mostly also in December. THE INNOCENTS' DAY commemorates the killing of all boys who were two and under in the town of Bethlehem. This cruel order was given by king Herod the Great who was attempting to kill the boy who was destined to be the new king of Israel according to the prophecies that the Magi had told him about.  This specific day is celebrated in Latin America with "Inocentadas",  jokes that are quite similar to the ones of April Fool's Day. Whoever is the victim of an Inocentada will be called a "Pobre Inocente" after being played.

The North Pole, home to Santa Claus A somewhat difficult question to answer considering the fact that the North Pole as such does not exist in terra firma but on a large portion of mostly frozen water. That means there is no land where to build a permanent base for poor Santa Claus to live and create toys for those kids who have been good since the North Pole is in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. The South Pole is another story entirely because there is a continent called Antarctica where several countries keep scientific bases all year round. If Santa Claus actually existed it would be more convenient for him  to live there just because the South Pole is not in the middle of a frozen ocean but in land.  Of course the question still stands, doesn´t it? I would say that indeed it is more convenient that Santa lives in the North Pole because it is closer to those who created Santa. This character was born in Europe and as time passed Santa evolved by incorporating diver...

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the second installment of the story telling the events that occurred sixty years before the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  A hobbit called Bilbo (Martin Freeman) has been convinced by Gandalf the Grey (Ian Mac Kellen) to aid him and a group of thirteen dwarves to go to Lonely Mountain, the place where there used to be the greatest, and richest, of all dwarve kingdoms  before it was taken over by the power of the mighty dragon called Smaug. Bilbo's qualities, his determination and small size will be necessary to recover the Arkenstone from Smaug since a frontal attack is impossible. The Arkenstone is the symbol that can convince all the Dwarves to unite against Smaug's present threat and the one that Gandalf feels is approaching. There are other events transpiring in nearby regions: the rise of the evil Orcs is a bad sign and Gandalf learns that the dark lord, Sauron, is somehow back from the Dead and gathering his forces for a new atta...

The Gringh is a literary creation by the famous Dr. Seuss (the same American writer and cartoonist who created The Lorax ) and first appeared back in 1957 in a book entitled How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Depicted as a thin and tall green humanoid being with a rather large mouth and a cynical smile, the Grinch is what in literature is called an antihero. In fact he tries to sabotage his neighbors' Christmas by taking away their Christmas present but eventually he will experience a change of heart and return the presents to his neighbors. His name has become popular in some countries and is used to refer tom people with little or no Christmas spirit at all. So when in Guayaquil during Christmas time someone calls you "Grinch!" probably you need to show a kinder and more joyous Christmas spirit or stop showing the opposite.

"H appy Birthday to you, Happy ...wait, no that's not..." The term is CAROLER (spelt CAROLLER in  British English) which derives from the word CAROL.  CAROLS are, simply put, songs of joy which are sung during Christmas time. A  group  performing   in   a   public   place   or   going   from   house   to   house are common are common and such activity receives the name CAROLING or CAROLLING in British English, though really, and this is my personal opinion, no one sang Christmas Carols like Frank Sinatra (especially  Walking in  a Winter Wonderland)  or Dean Martin ( Let it Snow).

Dexterity is a special skill that allows our hands to move gracefully and more importantly to be able to perform tasks that require using your hands and be good at it such as solving certain puzzles or being able to pass a coin from one finger to the next.  Dexterity is specially useful to doctors but also to pianists or painters. Now this is another word that is not easily put into Spanish. Best I could find is HABILIDAD but it made no mention to the use of hands, an important omission considering the word DEXTERITY alludes to that precisely.  

A former student of mine, Carlos Julio Gómez, asks this one and also proposes an answer SERVE YOUR COUNTRY. The problem with HACER PATRIA is that many people, politicians in particular, have overused the term and when that happens a word loses much of its original meaning. HACER PATRIA implies that not only you must serve your country as all good citizens should. You must also go that extra mile and make a difference not only for your family and you but also all the others that share this land with you. It  means we must build where there is no shelter, fix what has been broken, defend if there are trespassers. Perhaps BE A REAL PATRIOT is closer to the real idea of what is HACER PATRIA.  Perhaps one who summed it up all perfectly was John F. Kennedy when he said: "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country."

It looks like pizza, right? The word that best describes what in Ecuador we call TORTILLA DE HUEVOS is OMELETTE (also spelled OMELET and even OMLET). The word is obviously adopted from French.  An OMELETTE is just beaten eggs (two or three are more than enough) which then are fried and tossed just like pancakes. The nice thing about an OMELETTE is that it can be cooked adding small pieces of pepper, tomato, onions, ham and several other delicious ingredients. Our TORTILLA DE HUEVOS is pretty much that though there are people that confuse OMELETTES with Scrambled Eggs. They are not the same though because of appearance and preparation.

A DEERSTALKER is not a person and is definitely not a dangerous thing even though the word stalker is in there.  As you can see in the picture, a DEERSTALKER is a type of hat, one that is used in rural areas during hunting, deer hunting so it does represent some threat not to humans but to poor deer. Why is this hat so famous? Though never stated clearly in any of his books, Sherlock Holmes is the one who wore it whenever he was investigating a case. So close it is the association that popularly a DEERSTALKER is a symbol of detectives not hunters. 

Ms. Karen Wigby de Nieto (Continued from previous entry) 3. Many have questions about TEFL, a program you were involved with before your retirement. What makes it relevant? What can still be improved?             I have retired from administrative responsibilities, but not from teaching, directing thesis or working on projects.   TEFL is still a project I would like to work on, particularly the online program and a curriculum reform.   The TEFL program needs a good evaluation and curriculum review and I would love to do that.             As I mentioned above, there was an urgent need for a TEFL program in 2002 because there was a huge demand for English teachers and so many were only English speakers without any understanding of how students learn English.   I had left high school teaching/coordinating for UCG because I wanted to train teachers an...

Ms. Karen Wigby de Nieto I met Ms. Wigby several years ago when I was part of the faculty of Universidad Casa Grande. She was my boss there and I still recall the first impression I had when she interviewed me as part of the hiring process: her speaking was calm and soft revealing a well-balanced person, but I could also see she was also strict and demanding. I was not wrong. She was always there, seeing that everyone was doing their job and making sure it was done right, but always with a kind smile on her face. Ms. Karen, as everyone calls her, has been an educator for many years and has been director of the English departments of several prestigious institutions of Guayaquil such as Colegio La Moderna and more recently Universidad Casa Grande  where she worked from   June 2001 – Sept 2013  in the following programs and positions:   Masters Program in Higher Education:   Coordinator and professor, July 2007-December 2008, May 2010-present. ...