3. Leccion 6

What is a Black Hole?

A black hole is one of the strangest objects in space. It is an area in space where gravity is so strong that even light cannot escape from it. Since light cannot escape from a black hole, it appears black. Light can travel faster than anything we know of - at a speed of 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) per second. If light cannot escape from a black hole, nothing else that we know of can. A black hole is not really a hole and it is not empty. It is filled with a lot of material crammed into an extremely small space. This is what gives a black hole its super strong gravity. The term black hole is used because these objects look like black holes in space - since they put out no light.

How are black holes made?

Scientists think that black holes are created in places where matter gets extremely dense (where a huge amount of material is crammed into an extremely small space). This can happen in the centers of large galaxies or when a giant star collapses and shrinks during the final phases of its life. When matter gets so dense that light cannot escape from it, the region that it is in becomes a black hole.

Are there really black holes in space?

Since black holes do not put out any light, we cannot see them. However, we can see the effect that they have on the area of space around them. Since black holes have extremely high gravity, they pull in surrounding material at very high speeds, causing this material to become very hot and emit X-rays. By finding this very hot material which is spiraling into black holes, astronomers can locate where some of them are. Also, astronomers study the motions of objects in space to see where there is material that might be moving as if a black hole were affecting it. So far, evidence had been found for the existence of black holes in the centers of several large galaxies, and in binary star systems (where two stars orbit each other).

2. A shift in classroom structure (Brown, 1991)

We are moving from:
1. A focus on product to a focus on process.
2. Teacher-controlled classrooms to a student-involved classrooms.
3. Preplanned, rigid curriculum to flexible, open-ended curricula.
4. Measuring only performance to gauging competence and potential.
5. Praising correct answers to building on approximations.

2.Successful teachers

1. have a practical command of English, not just a knowledge of grammar rules.
2. use English most of the time in every class, including beginners'classes.
3. think mostly in terms of learner practice, not teacher explanations.
4. find time for really communicative activities, not just practice of language forms.
5. focus their teaching on learners' needs, not just on "finishing" the syllabus or the coursebook.

1. Affective factors

Krashen (1985) has suggested the notion of the affective filter. This is a representation of the way in which affective factors such as attitude, anxiety, competitiveness, and other emotional responses can help or hinder language learning. The filter can be imagined as a sliding barrier which moves into place when a student is, for example, tired, dispirited, tense or angry and which prevents the the processing of input. A learner who has generally negative attitudes towards learning English will have a high affective filter and the task for the teacher will be substantial. The precise functioning of this filter is not explained, for example in relation to how it might affect the attention that students pay or do not pay to various elements of input. However, the concept of the filter highlights the role of the teacher in creating beneficial conditions for language learning.

29. Guantanamera

28. How do Buddhists reach happiness ? (1º Bach)

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/matthieu_ricard_on_the_habits_of_happiness.html

27. An argumentative text (2º Bach)

http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/mainguides/argue.htm