Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Laura Gallego, a young writer



I have already spoken about the young Spanish writer Laura Gallego. She is 34 and she has already published over 20 books for children and young people. Most of her books have been best sellers in Spain and other Spanish speaking countries but also in many other places: her books have been translated into 15 different languages, among them English and French.

Her biggest success, the trilogy Memorias de Idhún (The Idhúns Memories) is set in a fantastic medieval world called Idhún, a land with three suns and three moons. The plot centers around an old prophecy which predicts than only a dragon and a unicorn could save that world from Ashran, the Necromancer's evil plans. The plot is very entertaining, with many characters that endure numerous adventures. It can be hard for readers with not enough command of Spanish.

     


Fortunately, there is also a comic version of the the trilogy and this can be easier to use.


     
The seventh comic has just come out. The Idhúns Memories has been a best seller in Spain with almost a million copies sold . A more important reason to read the books is the fact that young people highly recommend them. They can be a very good tool to engage students into reading in Spanish.
More information about the author in her website:

Monday, April 9, 2012

Free Technology for Teachers


Free Technology for Teachers is the name of a blog written by Richard Byrne. The blog is very interesting and provides lots of useful information about how to teach using new technologies. As the author states: "free resources and lesson plans for teaching with technology."

I particularly like the tutorials on how to get the best out of different online resources such as google docs or how to start an online teaching project using free tools available online. It is not strictly a blog for language teachers but it can be a great resource for everyone involved in a bilingual program, especially to build an online learning environment that can be used to do projects with other schools.

The writer twits all the new information regularly so it is very easy to keep updated.


Free Technology for Teachers