Here you have a link about the last meeting John Carlin had with Nelson Mandela:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nelson-mandela-dies-he-smiled-and-i-knew-i-would-never-see-him-again-8987639.html
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| John Carlin delivering his speech |
John Carlin, the British writer and journalist, was invited by the English Department to give a speech to the students in Batxillerat. He talked about three main topics: Nelson Mandela, who is a friend of Carlin, Oscar Pistorius and Rafael Nadal. John Carlin has known the politics in South Africa because he lived there for six years while being the director of the newspaper 'The Independent'. It's then when he met Nelson Mandela and when he got inspired to write his book 'Playing the Game', which was later adapted into the cinema in the form of a film called 'Invictus'. He claimed that the South African society is still quite violent although the Apartheid having disappeared for some years now. It's within this framework where Oscar Pistorius lives and where he has killed his girlfriend. He, then, talked about Rafael Nadal as he has written a book about him. He referred to Nadal as a very respectful sportsman towards every single person who comes across with him. The students, finally, had the chance to ask him some questions.
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| John Carlin speaking to some students |
The English Department considers John Carlin's visit to the high school as a very rewarding experience for the students.
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| Some students listening to John Carlin |
I sat in one of the seats of the auditorium, I was late but that didn't influence the speech by John Carlin. When I was there, I made myself a rhetorical question saying 'Why have I paid for this?' It wasn't a bad speech at all, but he said unnecessary information for us. It was a drab conference, as he didn't show slides and he was sat all time. When I've to do an exposition, I stand and he didn't. I think what he said was indifferent for most people, but I can't comment about that. The good thing of the speech was that it helped us to learn English. Listening is good for learning a language. He is a good writer and reporter according to internet, but not for me. Everybody is free to express himself.
ResponEliminaWe were there to listen a very famous journalist, John Carlin.
ResponEliminaI didn't like at all the speech, I imagined another kind, encouraging the students to do studies, giving some advice... Maybe I hoped that he was going to talk about himself, how he could arrive to be a known journalist, but he only mentioned athletes and politicians. At least, listening conferences in English can help to improve our level.
In conclusion, I think that the speech wasn't so good how his name is. However, the idea was fantastic.