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Wednesday 30 January 2013

Homework 30th January 2013

Hi classmates and friends! Today started with the new Booklet: page 1 "Driving in a bad weather", page 3 "New York" and page 5, "Money matters" and also the listening from page 6. Furthermore, we worked with the Student's book, page 64 (1,2 and 3) in pairs.
       For the next day we must end all the homework from Christmas and one from the booklet, page 7 "Washroom story".
       Moving us to other topic, our teacher told us the way to borrow a book, magazzine or a dvd. She has a list in which we can choose a title, and she will commissioned to bring us the book and to give it to the library... a bizarre way to say that we have library service....but with the specification that it doesn't work like few time ago...
      If you feel like to speak a little bit english, I remind you that tomorrow, there will be workshop (from 15 to 15:50). Classroom 8, as usual!.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Homework 21st January 2013

Hi! If you didn't come on Monday... you must know that...
** NEXT CLASS WILL BE THE NEXT WEDNESDAY 30th **
Yes, we have two festivity days in a row... what a match!!
       We were speaking about the last oral test and all the things that we should improve for the next time. It is very important to include in our monologue passive structures, reported speeches, modal verbs and conditionals... and if you are not very good with the given topic... please, do not be silent!! Try to use SIDE TOPICS! The more, the better, and they should be linked. And moving us to the speaking test, these that we make usually in pairs, interaction will be our target. Ask your partner if s/he understands what you are saying or which opinion s/he has. This test mustn't be a dual monologue, it should be a conversation.
       Skipping to other important thing to think about, there is a new dossier for this new term. It costs 7 euros, but if you don't want to be cheated or ripped off, you can download the files on our teacher´s blog (HERE).
       Finally, 15 minutes before the class ended, we made acquaintance with three girls from Columbia, Ohio. We were splitted in three big groups and we talk a little bit about amazon enterprise. We don't really know how long they will be with us, but anyway, they are wellcome!!


Remember to bring the photocopies for the next day (photocopies included in the dossier 3: driving in bad weather conditions, money matters and washroom story). They are on the teacher's blog, but you can also click here!

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Spain's migrant healthcare dilemma


Spain's migrant healthcare dilemma


A new law in Spain has revived the debate over whether illegal immigrants should receive free public healthcare.
Simone from Brazil and Prince from Nigeria are both illegal immigrants living in Spain. They both have long-term, potentially life-threatening illnesses. And until recently they both received free public healthcare.
However that could all now change.
As of this month, a new healthcare law means illegal immigrants who are over 18 will only get treated for free within Spain's healthcare system if it is an emergency or a pregnancy or birth.
Prince, 42, was born in Nigeria but has been living in Madrid for the last 15 years.
He has HIV and takes four different types of drug every day to treat the virus.
Crucially he does not have a Spanish health card and so, under the letter of Spain's new health law, he will not get free treatment.
He says he cannot afford the medicines, which he claims would cost hundreds of euros a month, and fears that the new law could send him "direct to the grave".
Simone Belmont, 40 and a mother-of-two, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011.
She had a mastectomy and has undergone chemotherapy and radiotherapy. All of that treatment was administered free, courtesy of Spain's public health system.
Now, though, she says she is worried.
"I have appointments with my doctor, and I'm not sure if I'll be seen," she says.
'Segregation'
A health organisation, Doctors of the World, is running a campaign against the new law called "Right to treat", in which they are encouraging doctors to defy the new law and continue treating people who do not have the correct legal status.
The group estimates that there are around 150,000 people living in Spain illegally who will be affected

Dr Ricardo Angora says that a huge population of immigrants will be "segregated".
He warns that the new law will create a "health apartheid", in which some will be eligible for free treatment and others will not.
"We are not talking about a privilege - basic healthcare is a human right," he says.
In a recent speech, Health Minister Ana Mato argued that the new measures relating to illegal immigrants' access to free public healthcare were "not driven by a desire to save money".
She argued it was a question of Spain complying with European health regulations and ensuring that Spanish people received the same treatment abroad as those from abroad received in Spain.
She also said that provisions would be made to ensure that certain diseases were controlled, including "chronic illnesses for foreign people without legal residency [in Spain]".
However there has been no detail on what those provisions will be and, when we asked Spain's health ministry whether illnesses like HIV and cancer would be treated free on the health system, we were referred back to the minister's speech.
What is more, some doctors and nurses have said they will defy the new law.
On top of all that, Spain's regional governments are the ones that actually implement healthcare policy. Healthcare makes up 40-50% of their budgets.
Five of Spain's autonomous communities, including Catalonia and Andalusia, two of the largest in population terms, have publicly said they will not implement the new law.
False economy?
Although the government argues that the new law is not driven by financial considerations, many analysts believe otherwise.
And, in times of economic crisis and austerity, there is no doubt that wider health reforms that the Spanish government is implementing are designed to reduce Spain's overall health bill.
Spain currently spends around 9.5% of GDP on healthcare per year, which is the average amount developed countries in the OECD spend. Britain spends around 12% of its GDP.
However Spain's healthcare bill has been rising faster than other nations.
Professor Nuria Mas from Spain's IESE business school specialises in the economics of healthcare policy.
She says, over the course of the last 10 years, Germany's annual health bill has risen, on average, by around 2%.
In Spain that figure is 5.5%.
Overall, she believes the new law could increase the amount Spain spends on healthcare each year, because some illegal immigrants might avoid preventative or early treatments, which they would have to pay for.
If they then wait until their condition becomes an emergency for which, under the new law, they would be covered, then the Spanish state would pick up the tab.
And emergency treatments are often more expensive.
However she also says Spain's free public health system has contributed to a "pull effect", making it "very attractive for immigrants, especially illegal ones, to come to Spain".
The new law will, she argues, make it "more difficult" for those people and may reduce the "pull effect" now and beyond Spain's financial crisis.

New words:
Crucially : crucialmente, significativamente           mastectomy : mastectomia (surgical removal of a breast)
to defy:     desafiar, retar               referred back: remitido a lo anterior
austerity:     austeridad                                    reforms :  reformas
implementing :  implementando            overall health bill: el total del coste de salud
preventative :  preventivo                                   
pick up the tab: lidiar con las consecuencias --> pick up the pieces (deal with the aftermath)
now and beyond:  ahora y en la futura                      provisions : abastecimiento       


Spain healthcare bosses quit over Madrid privatisation


Spain healthcare bosses quit over Madrid privatisation



Healthcare managers in the Madrid region are resigning over plans to privatise part of the health service in and around the Spanish capital.
The regional government wants to cut costs by privatising the management of 27 health centres, out of 270 in total.
On Tuesday 322 managers from more than half of the centres tendered their resignations, to take effect when the privatisation takes place.
Spain's debt crisis has brought deep cuts to public healthcare.
The country's 17 semi-autonomous regions administer healthcare and education.
On Monday thousands of Spanish medical workers and residents marched through Madrid, angry at the conservative regional government's privatisation plans.

Piece of news from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20948446

New words:
privatisation: privatización                  healthcare: sanidad
management: gestión                        resign: dimitir, abandonar, renunciar

Friday 11 January 2013

Speaking test ahead. Be ready!!

How are you classmates? Are you learning a lot for the speaking test? I bring you  my Santa present... a compilation list of some topics that we have listened from our peers in class. There aren't all words... only those which I was able to catch, anyway I hope it will be useful for your learning-reviewing time. Good luck!! Afterwards, you can take a look to the compilation vocabulary of the last three modules.


Mixed vocabulay compilation_2012 from Isidoro Interino JCCM Educación

Modules 3,4 and 5 (and also some of the booklet)


Good luck to everybody!!

Thursday 10 January 2013

BABY WORLD

As a resolution for this 2013 I wished to improve my daughter's english level... and I think the best way to do it is starting  the quicker the better... Here you are a compilation vocabulary which maybe will help you in case you need to talk about babies... who knows???

Tuesday 1 January 2013

Happy New Year 2013

Hi classmates and friends!! I wish all you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! For this next year the homework is to be happier than in 2012. And a piece of advice could be...