Look at the first picture at the top of this page.
Can you see it on the virtual tour ?
Look at the picture of the boys playing.
What is the name of this painting ?
Can you find this part of the painting ?
What other games can you see ?
LEVEL UP: score 500 points
LEVEL 5
Look at the painting ‘Children’s Games’ from 1560. In your teams, write a short story about what you see. Some people can draw, others can write. When you are finished, you may present to the class.
LEVEL UP: score 1000 points
GREAT WORK
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE
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.
The last two lessons focused on adjectives and their opposites, including:
big~ small // high ~ low // sharp ~ blunt //
easy ~ difficult // rough ~ smooth //
quiet ~ noisy // fat ~ thin // safe ~ scary
Complete the sentences with the correct adjective.
I can’t cut my hair, my scissors are __________
My puppy is so _______ however, my hedgehog is very _____________ .
The maths test was so _______ however the science test was so ________________ .
Be careful, Ms Thuy ! The man is very ______ .
Laurel and Hardy are so funny. One is very _____ however, one is very ______ .
Yoyoko is only _________________ however she is very ______________ !
Harold is climbing very _____
Oh, no ! Crocodiles have very ______ teeth.
Now … your turn
Get out your list of adjectives. Write THREE sentences with new adjectives.
To help, look at these photos:
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.
From mid 1966 – 1967, Brian Wilson recorded tracks for the ‘Smile’ LP, while The Beach Boys were on tour. For years, ‘Smile’ would be regarded as the greatest LP never released.
Brian Wilson with Van Dyke Parks working on the Smile LP. The LP wouldn’t be released until decades later.
On the 24th November 1966, The Beatles went into Abbey Road to begin work on ‘Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’.
Resting after a motorcycle accident in July 1966, Bob Dylan spent the spring of 1967 writing songs with The Band in his house near Woodstock, New York. In June 1967, they switched to Big Pink, a house The Band shared, and began recording in the basement. These recordings were heavily bootlegged, and finally released in 1975.
The Band at Big Pink
Also in July 1966, Peter Green officially replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.
Peter Green
The new year was only days old when out of LA came the debut album by The Doors …
Please note, most dates are from Wikipedia so there may be some errors. Also, UK and US release dates varied; I have usually given the UK date. This is a selective discography, showcasing just some of the amazing music of 1967.
December 23rd 1966 Buffalo Springfield ‘For What It’s Worth’ single (charted in Spring 1967)
December 1966 The Electric Prunes ‘The Electric Prunes’ LP
January
4th The Doors ‘The Doors’ LP
4th The Doors ‘Break On Through (To The Other Side)’ single
9th The Byrds ‘So You Wanna Be A Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ single
9th The Monkees ‘More Of The Monkees’ LP
13th The Rolling Stones ‘Let’s Spend The Night Together’ / ‘Ruby Tuesday’ double A-side single
20th The Rolling Stones ‘Between The Buttons’ LP (UK). Album released Feb 11th USA.
23rd The Supremes ‘Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland’ LP
February
1st Jefferson Airplane ‘Surrealist Pillow’ LP
3rd Herman’s Hermits ‘There’s A Kind Of Hush’ single
3rd Death of Joe Meek (record producer. Produced ‘Telestar’, the second British song to top the US charts)
Joe Meek
6th The Byrds ‘Younger Than Yesterday’ LP
10th The Hollies ‘On A Carousel’ single
12th Keith Richards & Mick Jagger arrested for drug possession at Redlands, home of Richards.
Keith Richards & Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones
13th The Beatles ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ / ‘Penny Lane’ double A-side single
16th Miles Davis ‘Miles Smiles’ LP
Two Miles Davis LPs released in 1967
17th John Mayall And The Bluesbreakers ‘A Hard Road’ LP
Simon & Garfunkel
27th Simon & Garfunkel ‘At The Zoo’ single
27th Elvis Presley ‘How Great Thou Art’ LP
February The Mamas & The Papas ‘Dedicated To The One I Love’ single
February The Left Banke ‘Walk Away Renne’ LP
February Gene Clark ‘Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers’ LP
February The Mamas & The Papas ‘Deliver’ LP
March
3rd The Walker Brothers ‘Images’ LP
7th Sandie Shaw ‘Puppet On A String’ single (Sandie won the Eurovision Song Contest with this song, the first time the UK won the contest)
8th The Monkees ‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You’ single
10th Pink Floyd ‘Arnold Layne’ single
clip from the ‘Arnold Layne’ video.
Syd Barret of Pink Floyd in 1967
12th The Velvet Underground “The Velvet Underground and Nico’ LP
13th The Byrds ‘My Back Pages’ single
16th Otis Redding with Carla Thomas ‘King & Queen’ LP
17th Jimi Hendrix ‘Purple Haze’ single
17th Grateful Dead ‘The Grateful Dead’ LP
24th Manfred Mann ‘Ha Ha Said The Clown’ single.
31st The Move ‘I Can Hear The Grass Grow’ single
March The Dave Clark Five ‘You Got What It Takes’ single
March Neil Diamond ‘Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon’ single
March Frank Sinatra And Nancy Sinatra ‘Something Stupid’ single
Carnaby Street in London
April
1st Jefferson Airplane ‘Somebody To Love’ single
7th Lulu ‘The Boat That I Row’ single
‘Pictures Of Lily’ Japanese single cover
14th Bee Gees ‘New York Mining Disaster 1941’ single
21st The Yardbirds ‘Little Games’ single. This is the last UK single by the band, and it failed to chart.
22nd The Who ‘Pictures Of Lily’ single
24th The Doors ‘Light My Fire’ single
29th Aretha Franklyn ‘Respect’ single
Aretha Franklyn
29th The 14 Hour Technicolour Dream, a concert held at Alexandra Palace, London. Pink Floyd are the headline act.
April The Mamas & The Papas ‘Creeque Allee’ single
April Anti-Vietnam War protests in Washington DC, New York and San Francisco
1st Pat Martino ‘El Hombre’ LP recorded. Released later in 1967
Debut LP by the Jazz guitarist
Pat Martino, Jazz guitarist
May
1st The Association ‘Windy’ single
5th Jimi Hendrix ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ single
5th The Kinks ‘Waterloo Sunset’ single
11th Country Joe And The Fish ‘Electric Music For The Mind And Body’ LP
The 1967 Bond film
Theme song by Nancy Sinatra
12th Procol Harum ‘A Whiter Shade Of Pale’ single
Procol Harum
Scott Mackenzie
13th Scott Mackenzie ‘San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)’ single
13th The Grass Roots ‘Let’s Live For Today’ single
19th Traffic ‘Paper Sun’ single
Strawberry Alarm Clock
19th Strawberry Alarm Clock ‘Incense And Peppermints’ single
22nd The Byrds ‘Have You Seen Her Face’ single
22nd The Monkees ‘Headquarters’ LP
26th The Hollies ‘Carrie Anne’ single
26th The Beatles ‘Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’ LP
26th Mothers Of Invention (Frank Zappa) ‘Absolutely Free’ LP
29th The Tremeloes ‘Silence Is Golden’ single
June
1st David Bowie ‘David Bowie’ LP
1st Elvis Presley ‘Double Trouble’ Soundtrack LP
6th Moby Grape ‘Moby Grape’ LP
Debut LP by Moby Grape, featuring Skip Spence on rhythm guitar and vocals
8th The Association ‘Insight Out’ LP
16th Pink Floyd ‘See Emily Play’ single
16 – 18 Monterey International Pop Festival
Jimi Hendrix
Jefferson Airplane
Performers include Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, Grateful Dead, The Who, Big Brother and The Holding Company, Buffalo Springfield, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Mamas & the Papas. Electric Flag, comprising Mike Bloomfield on guitar and Buddy Miles on drums, made their live debut. The band’s first LP, issued in 1967, was the soundtrack to the film ‘The Trip’
Electric Flag
Grateful Dead
The Who
23rd The Small Faces ‘The Small Faces’ LP
24th Jefferson Airplane ‘White Rabbit’ single
25th Our World TV. The Beatles perform ‘All You Need Is Love’ from Abbey Road, EMI studio. The program was broadcast by satellite, and watched by more than 400 million people in 25 countries.
26th The Hollies ‘Evolution’ LP
The Hollies
30th The Who ‘The Last Time’ / ‘Under My Thumb’ single (the single was recorded just two days previously, to support the legal fees of Mick Jagger & Keith Richards.
June Cream ‘Strange Brew’ single
June Captain Beefheart ‘Safe As Milk’ LP
Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band
June The Kaleidoscope (USA band) ‘Side Trips’ LP
July
7th The Beatles ‘All You Need Is Love’ single
7th Dave Davies ‘Death Of A Clown’ single (solo from Davies of The Kinks)
7th Simon & Garfunkel ‘Fakin’ It’ single
13th The Byrds ‘Lady Friend’ single
14th Bee Gees ‘Bee Gees 1st’ LP
17th Death of John Coltrane
John Coltrane
24th The Beach Boys ‘Heroes and Villains’ single
28th Keith West ‘Excerpt From A Teenage Opera’ single
July The Monkees ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ single
The Yardbirds with Jimmy Page (2nd from left). Page would later go on to form Led Zepplin
July The Box Tops ‘The Letter’ single
Alex Chilton of The Box Tops
July Canned Heat ‘Canned Heat’ LP
July The Yardbirds ‘Little Games’ LP (USA only. This lineup has Jimmy Page as sole guitarist)
August
4th The Flower Pot Men ‘Let’s Go To San Francisco’ single
4th The Small Faces ‘Itchycoo Park’ single
4th Pink Floyd ‘The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn’ LP
18th The Rolling Stones ‘We Love You’ single (UK)
19th Jimi Hendrix ‘Burning Of The Midnight Lamp’ single
21st Bobbie Gentry ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ LP
23rd Big Brother & the Holding Company ‘Big Brother & the Holding Company’ LP
Big Brother & the Holding Company with singer Janice Joplin
23rd Jimi Hendrix ‘Are You Experienced LP
25th The Move ‘Flowers In The Rain’ single
27th Death of Brian Epstein (Beatles manager)
Brian Epstein
28th Merle Haggard ‘Branded Man’ LP
August Traffic ‘Hole In My Shoe’ single
August Glenn Campbell ‘Gentle On My Mind’ LP
August The Seeds ‘Future’ LP
The Seeds
Vanilla Fudge
August Vanilla Fudge ‘Vanilla Fudge’ LP
September
1st John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers ‘Crusade’ LP, featuring new guitarist and future Rolling Stone Mick Taylor.
1st Procol Harum ‘Procol Harum’ LP
4th The Doors ‘People Are Strange’ single
15th The Kinks ‘Something Else’ LP
16th Scott Walker ‘Scott’ LP
18th The Beach Boys ‘Smiley Smile’ LP (USA). The ‘Smile’ concept was abandoned, and this LP was cobbled together to fulfil record company commitments. The Album was released in November in the UK
19th Bee Gees ‘Massachusetts’ single
22nd The Hollies ‘King Midas In Reverse’ single
25th The Doors ‘Strange Days’ LP
The Doors ‘Strange Days’
End of September John Coltrane ‘Expression’ (First posthumous release) LP
The launch of Radio One
September Gene Pitney ‘Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart’ single
30th Radio One starts broadcasting in the UK. The first song is ‘Flowers In The Rain’ by The Move.
October
3rd Death of folk singer Woody Guthrie (a major influence on Bob Dylan)
Woody Guthrie
6th David McWilliams ‘Days of Pearly Spencer’ single
10th Elvis Presley ‘Clambake’ Soundtrack LP
13th The Who ‘I Can See For Miles’ single
13th The Kinks ‘Autumn Almanac’ / ‘Mr Pleasant’ single
13th The Troggs ‘Love Is All Around’ single
20th The Byrds ‘Goin’ Back’ single
23rd The Beach Boys ‘Wild Honey’ single
23rd Miles Davis ‘Sorcerer’ LP
25th The Monkees ‘Daydream Believer’ single
The Monkees
25th The 13th Floor Elevators ‘Easter Everywhere’ LP
27th Ten Years After ‘Ten Years After’ LP
31st Phil Ochs ‘Pleasures Of The Harbour’ LP
Phil Ochs
November
1st Love ‘Forever Changes’ LP
2nd Scott Walker ‘Jackie’ single
2nd Cream ‘Disraeli Gears’ LP
Cream
Eric Clapton in Cream
6th The Monkees ‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd’ LP
10th Moody Blues ‘Nights In White Satin’ single
10th Moody Blues ‘Days Of Future Passed’ LP
18th Buffalo Springfield ‘Buffalo Springfield Again’ LP
24th The Beatles ‘Hello, Goodbye’ / ‘I Am The Walrus’ double A-side single
24th Dave Davies ‘Susannah’s Still Alive’ single
24th Traffic ‘Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush’ single
24th Kaleidoscope (UK band) ‘Tangerine Dream’ LP
The UK band Kaleidoscope
November The Dave Clark Five ‘Everybody Knows’ single. Their first Top 10 hit since July 1965
November the Lemon Pipers ‘Green Tambourine’ single
November Glenn Campbell ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ LP
November Country Joe And The Fish ‘I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die’ LP
November The Hollies ‘Butterfly’ LP
November Lee Morgan ‘Delightfulee’ LP
Jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan
November Van Dyke Parks ‘Song Cycle’ LP
Van Dyke Parks, who had collaborated with Brian Wilson on the aborted ‘Smile’ project
November or December The Doors ‘Love Me Two Times’ single
December
1st Jimi Hendrix ‘Axis: Bold As Love’ LP (UK. Released 1968 in USA)
8th The Beatles ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ double EP (in USA, this is released as an LP with the inclusion of all singles and B-sides from 1967)
8th The Rolling Stones ‘Their Satanic Majesties Request’ LP
8th Traffic ‘Mr Fantasy’ LP
9th Jim Morrison of The Doors is arrested onstage at New Haven, charged with obscenity and incitement to riot. He becomes the first rock star to be arrested onstage.
10th Death of Otis Redding
Otis Redding
13th Jimi Hendrix ‘Foxy Lady’ single
15th The Who ‘The Who Sell Out’ LP
18th The Beach Boys ‘Wild Honey’ LP
18th The Beach Boys ‘Darlin” single
26th The Beatles ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ broadcast on the BBC. The film, which is shown in black & white, is poorly received. A colour version in screened on 5th January 1968
27th Leonard Cohen ‘The Songs Of Leonard Cohen’ LP
Leonard Cohen
Dave Gilmore
December The Loving Spoonful ‘Everything Playing’ LP
Chris spent Friday evening at Rodenberg Strasse, abstaining from alcohol, and reading until Richard returned from Steglitz, after which they shared a couple of easy beers. The music was constant but soft, limited to Richard’s few CDs. The next morning, Chris was flying back to London and Richard had all day to fret about his date with Johanna.
In the morning, dark and bitter, Richard, light and optimistic, walked with Chris up Schönhauser Allee to the Strassenbahn (tram) stop on Wisbyerstrasse, slushing through the snow, head down, shoulders hunched up. Chris tried moving from foot to foot to keep warm, but almost slipped on the treacherous ice. Before too long, the faint smoky glow of an approaching tram, doors opening with an hangover-splitting shriek but the inviting warmth of a heated vehicle.
Richard was travelling as far as Osloer Strasse the northern terminus of the U 9 Line. From there, Chris had a mere two stops to the interchange with the U 6, then four more to get the airport bus.
“So, tea, naturally, now, drinks … what do you have in mind ?”
“How about some Pimms ?”
“Didn’t know you liked Pimms.”
“Don’t know if I do. Never tried it. Just sounds so English. Ah, forget it. Everything’s cheaper here. Suppose Stilton’s out of the question.”
“I’m not bringing sodding Stilton back in my bag, I’ll get arrested. Books ?”
Richard named some Physics text books.
“Man, those things weigh a ton. All right, let me see. Oh, here we are. Sure you don’t wanna come to the airport, it’ll be fun.”
Richard said goodbye to Chris and watched him descend into the U-Bahn station. Just then, a Strassenbahn appeared, heading back east, and he jumped on, buying some croissants on the way back to his flat. As the coffee was brewing, there was a knock on the door, heavy, forceful, determined.
So Chris had missed the flight, or gotten the date wrong, or forgotten his passport. He pulled his door open, prepared to shout mock obscenities and bemoan the lack of Pimms when he was momentarily silenced. Completely blank for a second or two, and then a warm but confused,
“Silke !”
Standing outside his door, in tight black jeans, a very figure-hugging jacket, and boots that were far too sensual for the ice and muck of Berlin streets, was Silke who, in character, walked straight in and hugged Richard.
“Gehts ? Hey, long time, why don’t you phone, did you forget me ? Was ist ? Coffee ?”
Richard followed her into his own kitchen and, yes, she did look absolutely fantastic in jeans. He allowed himself this unexpected pleasure.
“But, er, Chris isn’t here. He’s just left for the airport.”
“Ja, und ? I speak with you. Oh, croissants, can I have ?”
“For sure. You speak with me. Wow. It’s a Christmas miracle.”
“Ah, mensch, bullshit. So was is with you ? Tell me.”
Naturally, there really wasn’t that much for Richard to tell. Same job, same life, same old Czar Bar. Chris, same job, same life, same old Czar Bar. Except for Johanna, about whom Silke was very curious.
“She lives where ?”
“Is it Marzahn ? Somewhere in the east.”
“Marzahn, schiess ! Have you been there ?”
“No, we always … ‘always’, twice, meet in town. Kreuzberg. In fact, we’re meeting tonight. Third date. Anyway, what’s with you ? Monika said you had a new man.”
“When was this ? You saw Monika ?”
Richard told her about meeting Monika in summer, without elaborating, not that there was any need for restraint. Silke knew everything.
“Ah, so, you know Gabi lives with a lawyer. Is a nice Hausfrau now, never meets. Lorelai went to …”
“I know, Munich.”
“Nein, England. She met a student and now lives in … let me think … Brighton ? Is it nice ?”
“Probably nicer than Marzahn. A student, hey ? What do ya know ?”
“Now we are neighbours.”
“Who ? You’re moving to Brighton. Why’s everyone going to bloody Brighton ?”
“Nein, you and me. I have a new apartment in Greifenhagener Strasse. Just go over Stargarder. By the Cafe Ankhor. You know it ?”
“Yes, remarkably cute waitress who couldn’t care tuppence for me. What else is new ?”
Silke, being unfamiliar with this rhetoric, actually began explaining what was new.
“Aber, ja, Monika, who knows ? I think she is tired. Too many stupid jobs, stupid men. I told her to go back to university. I’m going to. Is there more coffee ?”
An hour or so later, Silke got ready to leave. She made Richard promise to visit her, it was only five minutes away. They hugged and as they did so, they kissed. It was natural. For Richard, it was nice, very, very nice.
Around the same time, Chris was getting ready to board the flight to London. He was pinching himself, remembering to say Lufthansa, not Luftwaffe, and was looking forward to a high of 4 degrees.
Around the same time, in the north Berlin Bezirk of Wedding, Daniel was putting on his coats to call Jeanette. He had his Pfennings and Marks counted out, weighing down his jeans. The telephone that accepted cards was open-air and he would freeze his ears, while the coin-box was in a booth. It would still be freezing but not fatally.
Around the same time, ‘Rough Guide’ clutched in gloved hands, Alan Francis was walking along Danziger Strasse. He would have to move out soon, but Kelly had a room organised for him, across Schönhauser Allee. He saw a cinema over the main road and took it as an auspicious omen. He went to investigate his new neighbourhood.
Around the same time, although on EST, Eric Schwartz threw John Stuart Mill across the room, grabbed a Sam Adams, and planned on, in the morning, hitting a punch bag instead of the books. After Eric had finished Sam Adams Volume II, he felt better and reflected that making people happy, that is, tipsy, was undoubtedly for the greater good. By Volume III, he was wishing that the good people of Boston had tipped John Stuart Mill into the harbour instead of tea and by Volume IV he no longer cared, and was watching whatever was on late night TV.
Back in Berlin, Richard was reflecting on his day. He had seen Chris back to the UK safely. Soberly. He had caught a Strassenbahn immediately. Silke had miraculously reappeared in his life, the lady with Bond-girl legs, and S&M fetish boots, and tonight he was meeting Johanna. The year was ending very well.
Ready for the lesson, ladies ? Yes, Thay Paul … hey ho, let’s go ! [Ha Noi 2015]
Pedal to the metal, let’s dive in and hit the ground running !
We are licensed to review the previous lesson, a potpourri of quick thinking (thinking on your feet), dropping idioms at the drop of a hat and sentence building by employing as many relative clauses as humanly possible … big time ! Not forgetting the grammar lesson, prepositions, directions and map-reading, differentiating between locating (finding) and labelling (writing on something). Now, without further ado …
What do you see in the picture ?
Let’s break it down into three sections: the man, the car, the location, then the spatial relation between all three. Piece of cake ? OK, breaks down like this:
The man: Daniel Craig (actor), James Bond (character), tall, blonde, handsome, strong, highly-skilled, well-off (quite rich), talented, licensed to kill, British … what other adjectives ?
The car: expensive, beautiful, full of gadgets, exclusive, cost an arm and a leg, astronomical, Aston Martin DB10, luxury …
The location: Rome … no help here ! What do you know about Rome ?
NOW … YOUR TURN
Make an IELTS-style sentence featuring relative clauses and prepositions of place. You have two minutes … go !
Come, come my students … don’t disappoint me
Thay Paul, can you give us some help, please ?
Oh, you know I will ! OK, how’s this: Daniel Craig, who’s a world-famous British actor, is playing James Bond, a fictional spy who has been in over twenty films. Mr Craig, who is very tall and attractive, is standing in front of an incredibly exclusive Aston Martin DB10, which is an iconic British car, whose price is astronomical. Behind we can see the breathtaking skyline of Rome, which is the capital of Italy, a country famous for style, elegance and luxury.
Oh, piece of cake ! Thanks, Thay Paul.
Teamwork – utilise the internet to gather information. Quite simply, I am at St Paul’s Cathedral and I want to get to Shakespeare’s Globe.
Create a jaw-droppingly brilliant IELTS response telling me about St Paul’s, the Globe and how I can get there on foot.
You have five minutes … go !
Bonus points: What symbols can you identify on the map ? What do they signify ?
Now, time for some retail therapy, and we’re going to take it up a notch.
You will enter at OLI and meet your friend outside of Top Brand. From there, you want to visit The National, then Viking. Afterwards, your friend wants to pop into Books before you meet another friend inside Nortex. Your taxi will pick you up at IDEA.
This time give me directions as well as using relative clauses to explain something about the shops in question … or as much information as you can provide.
Today we’ll concentrate on building longer, more interesting sentences, altering sentence structure, and applying discourse markers and relative pronouns in order to be proficient in meeting the IELTS requirements.
Let’s kick off with some basic sentences, each containing one fact.
Park So-yeon is from South Korea. She performed under the name ‘Soyeon’. She was in the band T-ara from 2009 – 2017.
One possibility is to make a longer, main sentence (an independent clause) then break it up with some extra but not essential information (a dependent clause):
Park So-yeon, who performed under the stage name Soyeon, was a member of the South Korean group T-ara from 2009 until they broke up in 2017.
Here, I employed a relative pronoun (‘who’) to introduce the dependent clause, and altered the sentence slightly, adding some extra words.
Another, more advanced, option, which I recommend experimenting with as it will impress the examiner, is to start with a dependent clause. Allow me to demonstrate:
Performing under the name Soyeon, the South Korean singer Park So-yeon achieved fame as a member of the band T-ara, with whom she played from 2009 until 2017.
You will, no doubt, notice that the grammar may have to change, that is altering the verb form, by which I mean transforming the simple past into present continuous.
Now, you can guess what’s coming, it’s your turn to practise. I realise that not all of you are so enamoured of T-ara and South Korean women as I am, therefore, for that express purpose, I have selected three examples and you merely have to choose the person that most interests or appeals to you:
Daniel Craig is an actor. He is most famous for playing James Bond. His wife is Rachel Weisz. She is also an actor.
Thandie Newton is an English actress. She has three children. She studied at Cambridge University. She was in Mission Impossible II with Tom Cruise.
Tsai Ing-wen is president of Taiwan. The official name of the country is the Republic of China. She has been president since 20th May 2016. She was the first woman to be president of ROC Taiwan.
Next stage is to introduce some information and then offer up an alternate view, that is to say, a critical response which can be achieved by the use of appropriate discourse markers.
Let’s focus on the most recent Noble prize laureate ( Literature):
Peter Handke is an Austrian writer. His first novel was published in 1966. The English title is ‘The Hornets’. Handke was critical of the Noble Prize. In 2014, he called for the award to be abolished. Many people were critical of Hendke winning because he had supported the Serbia cause in the breakup of Yugoslavia.
There is a lot of information here, some purely factual (dates, nationality) some regarding the reaction to the award.
The Austrian writer Peter Hendke, whose first novel ‘The Hornets’ was published in 1966, was awarded the Noble laureate in 2019 despite his previous comments calling for the abolition of the award. Furthermore, there was a lot of criticism surrounded the announcement due to Hendke’s support of the Serbians during the Yugoslavian war.
Alternately:
Although there was a lot of negative critical reaction, Peter Hendke, an Austrian writer whose first book was published in 1966, received the Noble Prize for Literature in 2019 in spite of the fact that he had previously called for the award to be abolished. The writer, whose first book was titled ‘The Hornets’, had additionally expressed views supportive of Serbia which caused a backlash once the winner of the award was announced.
Your Turn:
Either write about somebody famous, somebody you admire or write something about yourself, making sure to include something positive and negative.
Next time, we can work on introductions, how to respond to IELTS questions by leading into the answer as opposed to simply answering directly.
This is my final class with this group as they have tests next week, conducted by the Vietnamese staff. Therefore it is a review lesson, going over recently-acquired words and practising listening skills.
It threatens to be quite passive (although this class is anything but passive) so I need to start with some energetic team games, focussing especially on speaking.
To begin, a STB game based on the previous unit (‘Special Places’). I’ll show various pictures of world landmarks and ask about them, for example where is this:
Bonus points for naming the mythological creature, and for asking the riddle with which it is associated. Other sites include the Taj Mahal, the Parthenon, a lighthouse, and the recently-discovered Hang Soon Dong cave here in Vietnam.
Here we can review UNESCO and world heritage sites. Vietnam currently has eight sites on the UNESCO list – how many can the students name ? https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/vn
Next a ‘run ‘n’ write’ activity. I’ll board an incorrect sentence and the students must correct. I need about seven sentences to give everyone a chance to take part:
What London like
was the weather what like
We goes on a boot trap (in past tense)
It weres (ADVERB) interesting
£75 is ext … exp …
You should criss the rood careful
Dali were a really famous lawyer.
As a bonus, can they draw a Dali-esque clock ?
Next we can have small group work. I shall show various photos and they have to write a short piece using as many adjectives and adverbs as possible:
psycho / palace / famous for / in common / gadget.
As usual, it helps to give a model to serve as an example. I shall use this photo:
‘Live and Let Die’ (1973) James Bond escapes from some extremely scary alligators.
In this picture, the British spy James Bond is surrounded by some very scary alligators who are extremely hungry. He tries using his magnet gadget on his watch but it doesn’t work. Bond is famous for escaping from very dangerous situations. Quickly, he runs across the water stepping on the backs of the creatures. Bond films are incredibly popular because they are amazingly exciting. Do you find them interesting or boring ?
Now for the students:
Typical Vietnamese foodThe magnificent Heath Ledger as the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’ 2009.London’s Buckingham Palace, hone to the Queen.Dali and friends.
To end the activity section, an opinion poll. This makes the students get up and ask classmates for their views, so listening and speaking skills are utilised – and no teacher-talking-time !
This survey will be based on Special Places. The students are offered a choice of four locations: The Pyramids of Giza, the Parthenon in Athens, The Taj Mahal in India and Buckingham Palace in England.
Which site do you want to visit most ?
Why ?
What is the weather like there (use adverbs) ?
What can you do there ?
What could be a problem ?
After this, it’s time for the book work and assigned lesson plan. As mentioned, there is a lot of listening and video watching, so that should occupy most of the remaining time.
To finish we need a high-energy game. ‘Family Fortunes’ is good as it makes the students work together, and can be a test of general knowledge. I could ask: name four countries in Europe, four typical dishes from USA, four famous singers etc.
Thay Paul's Notes 