Are we getting close to the Biblical Tower of Babel ?
Tower of Babel by Peter Breughal 1563
For those who are interested in the story, here is the extract from The Bible, Genesis 11
Genesis 11 New International Version (NIV)
The Tower of Babel
11 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lordsaid, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.9 That is why it was called Babel[c]—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
This lesson aims to introduce students to a wider range of vocabulary, phrases and expressions, and then gives them an opportunity to role play and act out the language.
A plan such as this only works with motivated students, and can be very fun for both learners and the teacher.
Print outs or photos of various consumer items will enhance the lesson, but first:
vocabulary
SHOPPING
Which shops do you like and why ?
Use these words and phrases to help you write your answer:
big, small, fresh, clean, cheap, expensive, near my house, convenient
range of choice, quality, cost, location, crowded
store layout (what does it look like ? Is it easy to find things ?)
staff helpfulness: average (normal), exceptional, non-existant !
value for money (good quality at a good price)
bargains (good quality and great price)
Interior of a Waitrose supermarket in the UK Food shopping is not always a pleasant experience
Haggling
This is the practice of trying to get a better or lower price for an item. This doesn’t happen in shops, which have a fixed price, but is common, indeed even expected, in markets, depending on the location and culture. Be careful – too much haggling can upset the trader.
haggling can be an art – there are many guides online
Expressions: I wasn’t born yesterday / you’re having a laugh !
[I will pre-teach these expressions in a class, but online students will have to look them up. If you ever need help, just leave a message]
What do you think is meant by ‘GENUINE FAKE’ ?
Make a conversation:
One is a market-trader, the other a customer.
You can choose the item(s): watch, phone, T-shirt, food etc.
The language is informal, intonation can be strong but still be polite.
EXAMPLE:
Here, the trader sells ‘genuine fake’ sunglasses
Customer: How much are these sunglasses, please ?
Trader: Oh, those are genuine Gucci, made in France. I can let you have for the special price.
Customer: Gucci … really ?
Trader: Absolutely, look … it says ‘Guchi’ here. Try them on … they are perfect for you.
Customer: Hhhmmmm, ‘Guchi’ … OK, how much are they ?
Trader: To you, my first customer, special price. Only $50
Customer: Are you having a laugh ! I’ll give you $5 tops, no more.
Trader: These are genuine Gucci … OK, OK, just for you, $45. They come from France.
Customer: Gucci are ITALIAN ! What a rip-off. I’m out of here.
Genuine Gucci sunglasses
With a larger class, have three students selling the same type of item but in different setting, for example:
a department store,
a shop having a sale
and a street market
To make it more realistic, the students have to alter their vocabulary to suit the store, that is, polite standard English for the department store, everyday English for the shop and more slang and idioms for the street market.
The items could include:
Handbags:
Set your own prices to reflect the realities of where you live.
Talk about a film you like. Why do you like it, and what is the story ?
Cinema Paradiso 1988 Italy
This blog will serve as a model to IELTS students to help with their speaking and writing skills.
IELTS has lots of ‘open’ questions, to enable the student to speak freely on subjects about which they feel comfortable.
In my last online lesson, I mentioned a film that I though a student would like, as she had chosen to speak about Scarlett Johannsson.
The film in question is ‘Lost In Translation‘. Here is a little piece about the film.
An iconic shot from the opening of the film
NOTE:
Short introduction – do not answer the question immediately
Organised structure – one point per paragraph
A change of attitude – a critical view
Short conclusion
LOOK OUR FOR
Low-frequency words
Complex sentences – combining two or more bits of information in the same sentence.
Discourse markers – words to link ideas together
Adverbs and less common adjectives
So, without further ado, the question:
Talk about a film you like. Why do you like it, and what is the story ?
INTRODUCTION – talk about cinema or films in general DON’T immediately talk about your favourite film.
Watching films and going to the cinema is one of my passions, so choosing just one film is going to be terribly difficult, not to say impossible. However, if I have to select one film, it would be ‘Lost in Translation’, with Scarlett Johannsson.
First paragraph. Information about the film and the main charcters.
The film, directed by Sophia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, was made in 2003, and takes place in Tokyo. A young, newly-married girl, named Charlotte, is alone in her hotel because her husband is constantly out working. Staying at the same hotel is a middle-aged, world-weary American actor, Bob Harris, in Japan to make a commercial for Japanese whiskey.
Second paragraph. The plot – what happens … and why.
Both characters appear to be suffering from culture shock and seem afraid to leave the security of the hotel. For example, despite seeming to be impressed by all the neon and energy of the city, Bob spends his night in the hotel bar with other tourists, while Charlotte reads and listens to music in her room.
Third paragraph. Develop the plot.
They meet in the hotel where age difference notwithstanding, they seem to get on extremely well, extremely quickly. Furthermore, they give each other energy and courage to venture outside. We learn that Bob is less than happy in his current life, while it becomes apparent that Charlotte is doubting her own marriage. At one point it look like they will get together. However, Bob decides to go back to the USA, leaving Charlotte, but not before they share an embrace on the street, in which Bob whispers something in her ear. We, that is the audience, do not get to hear what he said; we have to speculate.
Fourth paragraph: Something negative for balance.
Some people could be irritated that the final words are a mystery, other could be severely disappointed by this love story that never quite happens. The two protagonists return to their lives which will, possible, be unfulfilling. This negativity is like a black cloud on an otherwise bright, sunny day.
Conclusion: A short summary.
‘Lost in Translation’ is described as a romantic-comedy-drama. The characters are totally believable and likeable, while, technically, the cinematography is stunning. Furthermore, in my view, it is a charming, heart-warming, and life-affirming movie.
Firstly, let me start by wishing you all the best. I hope you are staying safe and well. Aside from the medical implications of this pandemic, the widespread lockdown is affecting people’s psychological health, their jobs and therefore their financial security.
As the death toll in my native UK approaches five thousand, our Prime Minister has been hospitalised, and people are being advised to stay indoors, self-isolate and maintain social distancing.
Against this backdrop, I have two recent clips to help my students.
I appreciate that learning English isn’t a priority at the moment, but my school remains open (for online teaching) so people can continue working and therefore have money to pay living costs and help the economy continue.
On the 5th April, Queen Elizabeth II addressed (spoke to) the nation.
For students, this is a chance to hear Queen’s English, as spoken by the Queen. Not only will this assist your pronunciation, but you will also encounter many new words and expressions.
As listening is very hard, I suggest only playing ten or twenty seconds, then replaying until you feel confident that you understand. After, copy, imitate the accent, listen for stress and intonation.
I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time. A time of disruption in the life of our country: a disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.
I want to thank everyone on the NHS front line, as well as care workers and those carrying out essential roles, who selflessly continue their day-to-day duties outside the home in support of us all. I am sure the nation will join me in assuring you that what you do is appreciated and every hour of your hard work brings us closer to a return to more normal times.
I also want to thank those of you who are staying at home, thereby helping to protect the vulnerable and sparing many families the pain already felt by those who have lost loved ones. Together we are tackling this disease, and I want to reassure you that if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it.
I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country. The pride in who we are is not a part of our past, it defines our present and our future.
The moments when the United Kingdom has come together to applaud its care and essential workers will be remembered as an expression of our national spirit; and its symbol will be the rainbows drawn by children.
Across the Commonwealth and around the world, we have seen heart-warming stories of people coming together to help others, be it through delivering food parcels and medicines, checking on neighbours, or converting businesses to help the relief effort.
And though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and of none, are discovering that it presents an opportunity to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation.
It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety. Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do.
While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed – and that success will belong to every one of us.
We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.
But for now, I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all.
The second clip is from the newly-appointed leader of the Labour Party, Sir Kier Starmer. This clip has English subtitles:
anti-Semitism: prejudice and hatred towards Jewish people
NHS: the National Health Service
poignant:feeling of strong sadness
play its full part: to do a job properly
we will shine a torch on: we will look carefully at something and discuss it if we disagree.
to call something out: to speak if you think someone has made a mistake or is doing something wrong.
You will hear many new expressions in this speech. Write down words and phrases you don’t know, look them up online, then try to use them in your English.
WARNING: THIS BLOG CONTAINS IMAGES OF WAR THAT ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNG READERS
April 30th is a national holiday in Vietnam. My Vietnamese students should know why, other students can probably guess.
Describe this photo:
What is the subject ? What is the background and history ? Why is this picture significant ?
What happened after this snapshot?
background– recent story or history to some event.
significant (adjective) – very important or large.
significance (noun) / significantly (adverb)
snapshot– a moment in a photo – captured by time.
In this photo we can clearly see …
The photo shows …
The photo depicts …
Vocabulary:
war / conflict / civil war / agent orange / reunification / peace treaty / ceasefire / chemical warfare / the seat of government / reeducation / education growth / Le Duan / public opinion / anti-war sentiments / Vietnam War Memorial, Washington DC / My Lai / Kim Phuc
Use the above vocabulary to describe the following photos. Organise your thoughts, then employ discourse markers to link your ideas together.
If you are not certain, you may use expressions such as:
I’m not entirely sure, but I think …
This would seem to show …
I’m not familiar with this image …
Practice speaking in complex sentences by using relative pronouns (who, where, which, whose)
This is a great opportunity for IELTS students to interpret the information represented on this graph. What is the trend ? What is the anomaly ? How would you categorise the fluctuation in figures from 2007 – 2010 ?
War Memorial in USATo commemorate the My Lai massacre in Vietnam
WARNING:
NEXT PHOTO MAY DISTURB SOME READERS
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC PHOTOS, NOT JUST OF THE WAR IN VIETNAM, BUT OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
THERE ARE NO ADJECTIVES CAPABLE OF DESCRIBING THE IMAGE.
THE PHOTO HAS BEEN CREDITED WITH TURNING AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION AGAINST THE WAR.
Ms Kim Phuc, aged 9, after her village was bombed June 8th 1972Ms Kim Phuc now, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.Ms Phuc’s story can be read in this (highly recommended) book.
Thay Paul's Notes 