New (Academic) Year, New Sites: MusicEnglish

Welcome back!

Let's start the new academic year with songs.

Here is a site where you can find videos for a selection of songs with English subtitles which make it easy for you to sing along.

  MusicEnglish 

 You can also find Norah Jones singing "Don't Know Why" live (Thanks to Richard Gresswell) and download the lyrics by clicking here.

And here's a studio version with subtitles.

 

Halloween (click here to find some classroom materials)

October 31st

First of all, here is an excellent "recut trailer" of Mary Poppins, very appropriate for Halloween:

A SONG: This is Halloween, from Nightmare Before Christmas

and

A WITCH, or so they say (by Monty Python)

The "Fun Theory" attacks again

The Fun Theory: fun can change behaviour for the better. This trend has given birth to excellent advertising campaigns like the one with the musical stairs.

Here is another example which combines technology with fun. It comes from Sweden and it intends to make people pay for their broadcasting fee, a tax citizens must pay also in the United Kingdom in order to be entitled to watch TV at home (click here for details).

Here are the two campaigns. Which one do you find more effective?

SWEDISH CAMPAIGN

(click on the picture to go to the site)

BRITISH CAMPAIGN

International Biodiversity Day

To read about the meaning of this celebration, click on the picture.

And here is a beautiful story to make us think:

Plurilingualism: how to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull

Although we have been getting news of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull practically every day since its eruption started, you rarely hear its name on the news.

Firstly, its real name is Eyjafyoll, as the rest makes reference to the glacier which covers it and not to the volcano itself. You can read more about this and about the fun Icelandic people are having with the mispronunciation of this landmark in Telegraph.co.uk : British attempts to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull causes hilarity in Iceland

As for the pronunciation, here is a fragment from abc.NEWS.com which is available in yahoo.news where an Icelander pronounces it. But she does not make clear the fact that the real name is shorter. Maybe she wants to keep the difficulty for the fun of it.

How to Pronounce Eyjafjallajökull

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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.

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.

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).

Valentines and love letters.

Here is a video that could be used to introduce a class about St Valentine's Day:

One thing I like about it is that it uses lots of song lyrics in the sentences the character is trying to write and it could be a good idea to make some competition in class to try to identify (and sing!!) some of them. Students could also try to "help" the man to write his love letter or valentine without watching the end of the story.

If you need more materials about St Valentine's Day, Larry Ferlazzo's blog could be of use. Here you will find more links to what he considers the best sites to learn about St Valentine's Day.

Now here is a song which is not mentioned in the video above but which is directly linked to its theme. It could represent the reaction of the lady who receives the letter from the man in the video.

The song is "Love letters", a classic, in the voice of Alison Moyet (the first version I heard although not necessarily the best, that is up to you).

To help you write valentines, here is a suggestion I have taken from Times Online. The two first lines are the "cliché" of valentine "poetry". The rest is a highly political statement and the basis for the joke.

It makes reference to an interview in which the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, opens his heart about private matters in front of the cameras. This has been perceived by some people (the cartoonist Peter Brookes , for example) as a change of attitude in the prospect for votes in the next election.

Messages: which one is more effective?

Warning: You might not want to watch the following advert if the previous one already managed to convince you and left you with a very good feeling.

Which one is more effective in your opinion?

Groundhog Day

Today is Groundhog Day. You might not know what it is, but it surely is an excellent opportunity to watch a great movie with lots of tips for language learners, as dialogues are repeated and repeated.

In the following scene you have basic questions for introductions and how to ask somebody to marry you (in a traditional way):

If you actually want to know about Groundhog Day, here is the "official" link:

Everyday activities from a multidisciplinary perspective

Here is a link to a video (unfortunately it cannot be embedded), where everyday activities are analysed under a new perspective.



It could be used for elementary levels and for CAL groups, identifying the different disciplines which have connections with what appears in the video. Click on the image to watch it.

Ken Lee

If you are still alive after Halloween and the Day of the Dead, here is something to kill you. Just how far bad English can take you: the "Ken Lee" phenomenon. And the Bulgarian protagonist lives in Spain. Just in case, don't copy her pronunciation:

In the next video you can read (using the subtitles, unless you speak Bulgarian, of course) how the singer managed to achieve such pronunciation. In spite of everything, I would not reject the method, but I would suggest you refine it a little bit after the first steps (phonetics might help here). Oh, and watch out for some mistakes in the subtitles (at least they do not affect communication):

By the way, here is the original song with the "right" pronunciation. Please, learn this if any:

The Day of the Dead at the British Museum

Coinciding with the exhibition about "Moctezuma, Aztec Ruler", the British Museum will celebrate the "Day of the Dead" on Sunday 1st November, just after Halloween, in the way Mexicans do. Click on the picture to see how:

The English Blog

The English Blog, by Jeffrey Hill, is in my list of favourite blogs and the following post is a good example of why. Of course, on top of the interesting posts, there are excellent links and resources for students of English:

Off The Hook

The University of Westminster and television

Can you imagine a Spanish TV series filmed at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Sevilla. I am sure we would not be short of stories to tell...


Well, here in the UK, there is a new BBC TV comedy filmed at the University of Westminster. It is about a group of first year students (freshers) and it can be watched on-line.

Click on the picture to go to the BBC iPlayer and watch the first episode (they are available for a limited period of time and you have a download button too!!). There are more episodes if this is your "cup of tea":

Regent Street cinema project

The University of Westminter and cinema

If you did not know, I'm working this year at the University of Westminster. I have been very lucky and the Polylang, the modern languages programme in which I am collaborating, is based in the original building at Regent Street.

What I did not know is that this was also the site of the first public film screening in the UK with an audience paying to see a film.

Now the University wants to recover the original cinema under what they call the "Regent Street cinema project" with the intention of (in their words) "transforming the birthplace of British cinema back into a multimedia facility and teaching space for our students and the wider community and putting Westminster back in the Heart of London."

Here is a video about this building and its implications for the cinema industry in the UK, which has been released with the campaign:

Here you also have a link to a slide presentation of the project:

http://www.regentstreetcinema.co.uk/

Slow Movement

This time I will insert a video about the Slow Movement before working on the topic in class. It is a bit long (almost 20 minutes), but worth watching. The paradox is that the talker, Carl Honore, speaks really fast.

If you want to listen and read the subtitles, go to 

and click on the subtitles bar under the main window.