EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

One of the most traditional Ecuadorian dishes, perhaps the most traditional, does not have a translation in English. Commemorating the events of Good Friday with a special dish is a tradition here but not in most Anglo Saxon countries.  Fanesca is a very thick soup only served during lunch in Holy Week, the week before Easter, more specifically on Good Friday and its preparation and ingredients are full of symbolisms. It was created out of the religious prohibition of consuming red meat during Holy Week, a tradition that began in the times before the Republic. The main ingredient then is a type of fish: Salt Cod (Bacalao) plus exactly twelve different grains (apparently each grain represents one of the twelve apostles). There is also zapallo which is in aspect and taste similar to pumpkin though not exactly the same. All of that has to be cooked in milk and after a long preparation it can be served, also garnished with hard boiled eggs, or plantain, or even  empanadas....

I'm not a fan of Jack Black´s movies. There are better things to do in life than sitting down and watch one of his movies, but a couple of them are not so bad.  In 2001 there was this movie called Shallow Hal about an extremealy superficial person, Hal (Jack Black) and his friend Mauricio (Jason Alexander)  who spend their free time hitting on only pretty girls. One day Hal is hypnotized so he can see people's inner beauty (or ugliness). It is under this spell that he meets a very large girl called Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow). Hal sees her as a slim sexy girl because Rosemary is kind and generous by nature. They fall in love with each other but their romance will face serious jeopardy when Mauricio finds a way to undo Hal's spell and brings him back to his senses.  It is a comedy and it doesn't really go beyond that though it is true that it makes you laugh and that it delivers a timeless message: there is an inner beauty in each person and that is what counts. T...

This is a nice family movie. It's not great but for those who want to see a film with no violence or sex, well... this is it. It is a 2012 Walt Disney production starred by Jennifer Garner (Cindy Green) and Joel Edgerton (Jim Green). In the movie they are a couple who has tried everything to have a child of their own and every attempt has been fruitless. who live in Stanleyville where they lead petty routinary lives. They do so much want to have a child that they write everything they wish for a  child in some papers and put them inside a box which in turn they bury in their front yard. Some time later their wish is magically (no explanation given) granted and a boy (Cameron Adams), a pre-teen, appears inside their house covered by mud. As they wash him they discover the boy is not entirely normal for he has a few leaves growing from his legs which cannot be cut off. The boy says his name is Timothy and calls Cindy his Mom, and Jim, his Dad. The boy is a unique and wonderful ...

Teacher Talking Time, or TTT, is considered a valuable tool in a Language class if used correctly, and in this case correctly means moderately.  It is of course necessary that a teacher talks to his or her students in order to elicit interest for what is to be taught, to explain, to clarify when students are in doubt, to keep the interest high, but if TTT is abused then our students' interest fades easily and quickly, and I know because it has happened to me more often than not. I have no problem in confessing that I am more the "lecturer" type of teacher, but I also have no problem in recognizing that new times require different approaches. It is a must to have our students practice as much as they can, only that practice should not be executed blindly. The teacher must always play a key role in identifying what best suits the interests and goals of his or her class. What can a teacher do? The answer should be obvious, but here it is again: let's have the stu...

Whoever said  musicals are boring has not seen Les Misérables yet. This is a film that intended to be many things: a musical like no other, a metaphor about the human condition, a portrayal of the French society of that time, and also another translation of a literary masterpiece into a motion picture.  Was it successful? I would say yes, it definitely was. To see Hugh Jackman in a "serious" role is nothing new but to see him and listening to him singing is another thing entirely. Jackman plays the role of some Jean Valjean, a man who was convicted for stealing a piece of bread because he wanted to feed his nephew. After years in prison he is released but finds it is extremely hard to readjust to the ways of the world until the day he steals from a generous priest who previously agreed to shelter him. When the Police comes with Valjean, a prisoner again, the priest denies any accusation and demands Valjean to be set free. From that moment on Valjean decides to change...

"When in Ecuador, I use Mjolnir to crush and then eat mighty crabs!" Why is Thor important to the English language? He is really important because it is with his name that they made up one of the days of the week and that is none other than Thursday which literally means Thor's Day (el Día de Thor). Thor is not an invention of Marvel, the company that publishes Spiderman and also The X-Men. What they did is to take a figure of Norse mythology and made it more accessible to the minds of the audiences of the present time.  In Norse mythology, Thor is indeed a god, the God of Thunder, a deity that the Vikings held in great esteem. When the Vikings invaded the North of Europe they also spread their culture and their beliefs and a reflection of that event is the names of some days in English. Thursday is Jueves in Spanish and thus here is another difference between English and Spanish since Jueves literally means the Day of  Jove (one of the many names the Greek god ...

Charlton Heston (1923-2008) was one of those legendary actors that will never be forgotten not only for the extensive and remarkable list of films he starred in his time but also for some of those movies are timeless classics. To be more specific two of those classics would be enough to assure him forever a place in the history of world filmography, and they are   The Ten Commandments (1956) and Ben - Hur (1959). And what is what makes them "timeless classics"? Perhaps it is the fact that both are centered in the Jewish-Christian tradition with the Ten Commandments being a Hollywood interpretation of the events told in the Exodus book while in  Ben Hur,  that is based on a novel of the same title, even Jesus Christ is included in the story . It is this connection that keeps these two films fresh in the viewers´minds since those are part of the selected films that TV networks air when it is  Holy Week (at least in Ecuador they do so). Both films have re...