Learn English … or else !

1st May 2023

Don’t take my word for it; here are some stills from a Korean film:

The film is ‘House of Hummingbird’ from 2019

So, do you want to be a house-owner or a housemaid ?

Roll up your sleeves, put your nose to the grindstone, burn the midnight oil, burn the candle at both ends, turn over a new leaf, hit the books, get down to it.

At every opportunity, read, speak, write English. Then, after you graduate, you can party !

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.

What’s in a name ?

5th April 2023

The Shins have a ‘Name for you’ … and I have some rules for students choosing English names for our English classes.

First, the name has to be ENGLISH, so no ‘Sans’ (a French preposition), no ‘Lavie’ (French for ‘life’, also the name of a bottled-water company).

No totally made-up names (Valhana is one example that comes to mind).

No titles (‘King’, ‘Christ’ … yes, I’m serious, one parent expects us to call his kid ‘Christ’)

and, in the name of all that’s gracious, no more:

Kelvin

Ken

Kenny

Nick

Nicky

The above names are DENIED

English is such a rich language, there is no need for every Tom, Dick & Harry to be called Ken (English humour).

Instead, choose from this list of short names:

Andy // Don // Fred // Guy // Ian // Jay // Jim // Len // Mark // Mick // Ray // Roy // Seb // Sid // Tim // Vic // Wes // Will// Zack

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.

Young Learners – our Pledge of Quiet

1st April 2023

For noisy and disrespectful classes – a short speech to be recited at the beginning of every lesson:

I PROMISE TO BE QUIET IN CLASS AND TO LISTEN TO THE TEACHERS

No talking, shouting, animal noises, clicking of pens, stamping of feet, slamming of books, whistling etc.

You will get ONE Black Star warning. The second Black Star means you go out of the class.

We can not help you improve your pronunciation if there is so much noise that we can not hear you.

You signed the Pledge … now keep to your word.

Thank you, my Top Cats.

5th March 2023

What a fantastic week – two gifts from two gifted students.

First up, an incredible piece of art from Top Cat Ruby who is around ten years old. I shall certainly have this framed.

Next, a gift from a student I no longer teach but whose classroom is near to mine (so they can hear the music I play loudly). Teachers absolutely need throat pastels, and I’m always telling my students to avoid sugar so I was over the moon with this gift from Class Captain Mina.

Thank you Top Cat Ruby, thank you Captain Mina … and not forgetting my irreplaceable TA Ms Huong, and her present:

However, Ms Huong probably gave me these to shut me up ! Regardless, thank you all so much.

Screen Test Compilation: Video clips for classroom games

23rd June 2022

Contents:

1 Summer Holiday

2 World’s tallest buildings

3 Egyptian Gods

Here’s a compilation of video clips that can be used in class for listening skills, observation, collecting information, and for fun.

‘Screen Test’ was a children’s TV show on the BBC from 1970 – 1984. A group of children were shown short clips of films, then asked questions about what they had seen.

First up is a clip I’ve used several times, ‘Summer Holiday’ starring Cliff Richard and his backing band The Shadows.

1 Summer Holiday

  1. What colour was the first car behind the bus ?

red // white // blue ?

2. What was the number of the bus ?

9 // 19 // 28 ?

3. What was the road sign at the beginning of the clip ?

London // Berlin // Paris ?

4. How many children wore a hat ?

1 // 2 // no children ?

5. How many men were riding bicycles ?

3 // 4 // 6 ?

6. What did Cliff, the driver, eat ?

a sandwich // a biscuit or cookie // nothing ?

BONUS POINTS – Can anyone sing the song – just two lines

“We’re all going on a summer holiday // we’re all going for a week or two.”

2 World’s tallest buildings

Questions

1) How tall was the Philadelphia City Hall ?

2) Where was the Singer Building ?

3) What year was the Bank of Manhattan Trust finished ?

4) How tall is the Chrysler Builder ?

5) The Empire State Building has two different heights – why ?

6) In what year did Chicago have the tallest building ?

7) What was the first tallest building in Asia ?

8) How tall is the Dubai Creek Tower planned to be ?

foundations of the Dubai Creek Tower

Answers: 1) 167m / 548 ft 2) New York City (NYC) 3) 1930 4) 319m / 1046 ft 5) first is height of building, second is height to the tip. 6) 1973 7) Petronas Tower in Malaysia 8) 1321m / 4351 ft

3 Ancient Egyptian Gods

Questions

1) What was the name of the Sun God ?

2) Which God was a writer ?

3) Anubis had the head of which animal ?

4) Would you see Nut in the day or night, and why ?

5) What was the name of the lioness ?

6) What animal was Bastet ?

Answers 1) Ra 2) Thoth 3) a jackal 4) night because she was the star goddess 5) Sekmet 6) a cat

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.

Hello Korea – 안녕하세요

19th June 2022

Jeonju, 2011

Last week, to my delight and amazement, I saw I had nearly seventy hits on one day, most of which came from South Korea.

To say thank you, here are some of my memories of your breathe-taking country, it’s films and literature.

Hope to come back again one day.

The Flying Bird Tea Room in Insadong, Seoul
Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul
The Gate of Deoksu Palace – The Palace of Virtuous Longevity, Seoul
Namsan Tower through the National Museum, Seoul.
Buddhist shrine, Jeonju

Some of my favourite Korean films:

Lovers ‘ Concerto 2002
… ing 2003
My Sassy Girl 2001
Virgin Stripped Bare by her Bachelors 2000

Some of my favourite Korean books:

This one’s cheating – my favourite Korean restaurant in London, near the British Museum.

Goodbye my Korean friends

All street scene photos by Thay Paul. Book and film images from Google