Life-cycle: John Lewis's ad

As a teacher, I tend to choose materials by how useful they are in the learning context but some other times their artistic or entertaining value makes them worth mentioning.

Here is an ad for John Lewis which has both. When I first saw it I really liked it but it also made me think about how good it was to introduce the topic and vocabulary of the different ages we go through in life: childhood, adolescence, maturity... (see other suggestions below)

It seems I'm not the only one who liked it, as it has gone viral on YouTube this week. Here is the video and a link to MailOnline, where you can read an interesting article about it.





The £6m ad that's got Britain talking - and sobbing

Added on May 9th:

Why the John Lewis advert has us hooked

More ways of exploiting the advert:

* "Can" for abilitiy: the song, Billy Joel's She's Always A Woman is based on the repetition of the structure "she can ..." to make a list of the "abilities" a woman may have (from the point of view of the singer, of course). This can also be used as a topic for discussion at higher levels.

*Descriptions: students may describe the different actresses and see their similarities and differences (on top of age). Actually, at a certain point, they might notice some slight change in height in one of them. Also the background changes but here is where the ad has received the only negative criticism, as it does not seem to change in time.

*Biographies: the story in the ad could be used to invent a biography and add details which are not mentioned, like the woman's job, her husband, where they live, etc.

More suggestions?

Logorama: A Story with Brand Names and Logos.

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Teacher helps pupils cheat

GCSE: the General Certificate of Secondary Education is "an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland" (Wikipedia)

Public school: although it may sound like a contradictory term, a public school is that which is run by private hands, as opposed to a state school, which is run by education authorities and on public funding.

Teacher at princes’ school helped his pupils to cheat in French exam (Timesonline)

Gordonstoun teacher banned after pupils get exam 'tip-off' (News.scotsman.com)

Tube workers taught how to use toasters after burnt toast shuts King’s Cross | News

Some friends managed to escape the volcano ash crisis and met with the dangerous workers' burnt toast.



Tube workers taught how to use toasters after burnt toast shuts King’s Cross News

Games: The Times Spelling Bee

The Times Spelling Bee is part of the TIMESONLINE and a good way to practise your spelling and listening skills. It is addressed to native children, so you will need to know quite a good range of vocabulary. It's worth trying and you can also learn new words.

Remember the menu on the right where you can choose different types of games.



Spelling is not consistent in English and that creates serious problems to both native and foreign learners of the language. That is why you may have seen some reference to spelling championships in some movie or series from an English speaking country. Something totally strange to Spanish speakers, for example.

Summer Term

Classes shut and exams threatened as ash cloud clogs working Britain - Times Online

The problem comes from the fact that most schools start today after the Easter Holidays and many teachers and students were abroad when the "ash crisis" started.

The academic year in primary and secondary schools in the UK is divided into three terms: Autumn, Spring and Summer (traditionally called Christmas, Easter and Summer terms, these names have changed due to political correction). In the middle of each term there is a week holiday called half term. There are also some bank holidays scattered along the year as well as the main vacation periods: Summer, Christmas and Easter.

For more detailed information about the British school calendar you need to check the information about a particular area. Here is the calendar for 2009/10 at the London Borough of Hackney:

The Learning Trust - The Future for Education in Hackney

It is interesting to contrast this calendar with that of New South Wales in Australia: New South Wales School Calendar

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Shakespeare's Birthday: What A Piece Of Work Is Man!

Today, 18th April, is Shakespeare's Birthday, and it is celebrated at The Globe, the reconstruction of the theatre built for his company, although this one is not in the exact location of the original. Click on the picture on the right to read about its history.

References to Shakespeare and his works my appear anywhere and at any moment in the English speaking culture. An example:

In the the musical "Hair", at the moment in London, also a film, one of the songs is "What A Piece Of Work Is Man" and the lyrics come from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (Act II, Scene II). It is a beauftiful although not very uplifiting passage (Hamlet is a tragedy and this quotation summarises Hamlet's melancholic mood at a certain point).

The song is also beautiful and it is sung at a critical moment in the musical.

The lyrics

What a piece of work is man!

How noble in reason!
How infinite in faculties!

In form and moving how express and admirable!

In action how like an angel!
In apprehension how like a god!

The beauty of the world!

The paragon of animals!

...

I have of late--but wherefore I know not--lost all my mirth,

This goodly frame, the
Earth, seems to me a sterile promontory,

This most excellent canopy, the air, you,

This brave o'erhanging firmament,

This majestical roof fretted with golden fire,

Why, it appears no other thing to me

Than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.
...

What a piece of work is man!

How noble in reason!

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (Act II, Scene II)

HAMLET

I will tell you why; so shall my anticipation
prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the king
and queen moult no feather. I have of late--but
wherefore I know not--lost all my mirth, forgone all
custom of exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily
with my disposition that this goodly frame, the
earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this most
excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave
o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted
with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to
me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.

What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason!
how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the
world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me,
what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not
me: no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling
you seem to say so.


If you want to read Shakespeare's works, this is an excellent site:

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare

Chatroulette

Jeffrey Hill has an interesting post about Chatroulette. You can find it by clicking on the picture. He explains what it is and inserts some links to articles commenting on the advantages and the risks of this new "social game".

This now is a video made using Chatroulette, which I find quite funny. In it, somebody is singing invented songs for the people who appear on screen. And he does it in front of an audience.

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Click on the picture to watch the video (or on the link below)

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http://www.wimp.com/livechatroulette/

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Note: You might like to consider your background and/or clothes next time you play "chatroulette" (if you do, of course).

Giving Directions: Some useful authentic material

Here is some material which can be useful for a lesson on giving directions. It is based on real information provided by Transport for London .

The picture on the right has been taken at Russell Square underground station and in it you can see a poster with a list of places of interest in the area and "how to get there". You can click on it for a closer look.

The indications include all the basic expressions and landmarks frequently used for giving directions, although some verbs, like "take" or "turn" have been omitted (to save some room, I guess).


The idea is to create an exercise by reproducing the information in the poster except for the names of the places, which the students will have to identify in a map after following the directions.

Here we have some more help from Transport for London , as they have also created some maps with places of interest in the area surrounding some underground stations. They are distributed for free at the stations but they can also be downloaded from their web (and easily printed and laminated for use in class). The one for Russell Square is this (the most useful part for this exercise is page two):

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/Download/EnvMaps/tfl/TK_russellsquare.pdf

As the last stage, if we want to work on this topic as a task, we can ask the students to create a similar poster for the area where they live which might be of help for visitors. They can take as reference their own school or any other relevant landmark. Depending on the level of autonomy of the students, maps could be provided by the teacher or by the students themselves as part of the task.

Note for tourists:

If you are visiting London, you might find these maps a good way of exploring different areas starting from an underground station. Unfortunately, it does not replace guides for further information and also pubs, restaurants and some other places of interest will not be listed, but it can always be fun to find these places by pure chance.

Oxford & Cambridge: The Exchange Boat Race.

Tomorrow, 3rd April, the annual boat race between the Oxford and Cambridge squads will take place on the River Thames.

Where to watch it? Click on the picture >>>>

To read about the origins of this famous race:

http://www.theboatrace.org/article/introduction

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April Fool's Day (Santos Inocentes)

Related vocabulary

Hoax: Act intended to deceive or trick.

Practical joke: a prank or trick usually intended to make the victim appear foolish.

Prank: a mischievous trick or practical joke.