One of the joys of the past few years has been discovering the work of Ms Alice Sara Ott, a pianist born in 1988 of a German father and Japanese mother.
I have introduced her to some professional musicians of my acquaintance, including pianists, and they unanimously praise her playing, her tone and sensitivity.
Ms Ott, who has been recording since 2009, interprets some quintessential French classics of the late C19th and early C20th on the 2018 CD ‘Nightfall’. Debussy, Ravel & Satie are all represented.
I’d like to share this promotion film, shot in Paris, to accompany the Erik Satie piece ‘Gnossiennes No 1: Lent’:
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A compilation of exercises about this east European country, birthplace of the scientist Nicolaus Copernicus, the musician Frédéric Chopin, filmmakers Roman Polanski & Krzysztof Kieślowski and footballer Robert Lewandowski, to name just a few.
Salt Mine near Krakow, southern Poland
14 miles from Krakow in South Poland is this deep salt mine. Everything here has been hand-carved from blocks of salt. The mine has nine levels with over 300km of tunnels. Part of the mine is open to visitors.
The mine has 22 galleries, 64 metres to 135 metres underground. Guided tours take about two hours.
Additionally there is a chapel here measuring 54 m by 18m and 12m high. It took two men over thirty years to build. Visitors can also see an underground lake, and musicians playing brass instruments.
Pope John Paul and Bill Clinton are some of the famous visitors.
Krakow Town Square
Poland is famous for its vodka, as well as its beer.
Just by watching his expression, can you tell if he likes it ?
How does he describe the taste ?
20 Things to do in Kraków
Do you think they planned their trip well ?
If not, why not ?
story of (my / your / our) life (lives) / place was buzzing / our mood / for starters / hop aboard / simmer down / booze cruise / the place was buzzing
Did you notice any superlatives ?
(the highest, smallest, most fascinating etc)
What do you think about Krakow ?
How does it compare with your home city or town ?
Polish food and drink
Would you like to try any of the food the travellers tried ?
Were there anynew expressions you heard ?
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.
During the 1950s a new group of actors emerged who captivated audiences, firstly on stage, later on screen. Talent, charm, charisma, personality, magnetism, attributes that could never be taught; actors such as Richard Burton, Richard Harris, John Hurt and Peter O’Toole had these gifts in abundance.
I was lucky in that living in London, I was able to go to the theatre and saw Mr John Hurt in ‘Month in the Country’, while I caught Peter O’Toole in ‘Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell’. Additionally, I once ‘met’ Mr O’Toole at a book signing in London.
Peter O’Toole in ‘Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell’
As for Mr Richard Harris, I had the pleasure of serving him one time in an upmarket bakery in west London. He was on form that day, possibly having partaken of a liquid lunch. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to see Mr Richard Burton. Now, back to Peter O’Toole.
I have a great clip of the magnificent Irish actor being interviewed by the fast-talking USA TV host David Letterman. Students can compare the two accents.
Letterman asks O’Toole if he has a story about fellow actor, Richard Harris. Instead of a rather pedestrian, “Let me see …,” O’Toole, cigarette in hand, responds, “Oh, I’ll shuffle through my memory,” before proceeding to tell said story (this occurs at 0:32 – 3:33).
The activity can be extended by asking the students to copy O’Toole’s voice and elocution. Obviously I don’t condone smoking but students have had great fun sitting crossed legged, imaginary cigarette held aloft, and repeating, “Oh, I’ll shuffle through my memory.”
The serious aspect here is to demonstrate the rhythms and stresses in English – the elongated “oh,” as he thinks, the focus on the verb, “shuffle’, the linking of “through my,” and the final stressed but downwards – intonations of “memory.” A lot of work covered in just six words. Good value for your teaching bucks !
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.
Can girls play drums ? Yes, they can or no, they can’t.
The amazing, incredible Senri Kawaguchi from Japan
Can boys dance ? Yes, they can or no, they can’t?
Madu Mmesoma Anthony from Nigeria
Can you eat a huge sandwich ?
Can you wiggle your ears ?
Finally, can anybody walk on water ?
Yes they can or no, they can’t ?
The brilliant magician Dynamo from the U.K.
Bye bye from the big brown friendly bear
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.
A tribute to singer-songwriter Phil Ochs, born on December 19th 1940. Phil wrote many political and protest songs against events of the 1960s and 70s such as the war in Vietnam, racial segregation and capital punishment.
Throughout the 70s and early 80s, British viewers were able to watch ‘The Monkees’ TV show, laugh at the zany adventures, sing along with the catchy pop songs.
The members were distinct: the charismatic and diminutive singer (Davy), the wacky drummer (Micky), the innocent, slightly simple blonde (Pete) and the serious, beanie-wearing musician, Mike.
The show was a success but short-lived lasting just two seasons, September 1966 – March 1968.
The guys were actors, they had auditioned for a TV comedy about musicians yet when the public learnt they didn’t play their instruments on recordings, there was a violent backlash.
Mike Nesmith actually was a musician, and The Monkees demanded to be allowed to prove that they could play, and wanted to be taken seriously.
From 1969 Mike began planning a solo career which including writing, performing, producing and pioneering early music videos.
Here’s my favourite Monkees song, ‘Daydream Believer’ with Mike on acoustic guitar.
Mike Nesmith December 30th 1942 – December 10th 2021
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.
Outside of the classroom, students will often be using English with other non-native speakers. Therefore, it is good practice to listen to people speaking English to see how much, or how little, you understand.
With that in mind, here’s a short video on extending your vocabulary, learning ‘low-frequency words’, or better words. However, the instructor is from India and has an accent. To test your understanding, try listening first, then look to check if you are correct:
New Vocabulary
Instead of using ‘very’ + adjective (I am very tired), use a single word:
Try to use ‘sagacious’, ‘exquisite’, ‘colossal’ and ‘spacious’ EXAMPLES:
The classrooms in Block D are ……….. (big, plenty of room)
The furnishings are perfect, they are ………. (very tasteful)
Building an underground train network is a ………… undertaking (very big, challenging)
The old man was ………. People came to him for advice. (very clever, wise)
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A lesson chockablock with phrases, slang and expressions on the subject of traffic.
THEME: Traffic
rush hour / ring road / congested / blind spot / flyover / motorway Metro or Subway/ U-Bahn (Germany) / the Tube (London) / roundabout
road rage / one-way street / traffic jam / chockablock / cutting in / cut me off / hit every red light !
Discuss any words you don’t know with your teacher or look online
What are the issues facing you when you travel around your town or city? [what problems do you have ?]
This is an opinion question, so start your answer with:
In my opinion // In my experience // For me // I believe // I think / It seems to me
First, think of the positives:
Is it easy to travel around ?
Is petrol or gas cheap ? Are there many petrol stations ?
Can anyone attain a driver’s licence ?
What about public transport ? Cheap, reliable, clean, safe ?
Conversely, think of the negatives such as the time spent travelling.
Accidents and costs: insurance, petrol, maintenance
Dangers: pollution, other drivers, road etiquette
Condition of roads
Is traffic getting worse in your home city ? Why do you think so ?
What can be done to ease this situation ?
Finally, what is your conclusion ?
What is happening here ?
What do you think will happen to the driver of the bus ?
Taking a Viet driving test
The second clip is from ‘Top Gear’ (UK). The boys came to Vietnam, in 2008. They had a challenge: to buy a car then drive from HCM City to Hanoi.
What could possibly go wrong ?
Note down any new expressions, then practice … and practice … and practice
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How many times does 4 go into 100 ? What goes into 100 4 times ?
Practice – how would you say these:
25 + 30 =
12 x 10 =
95 – 35 =
39 ÷ 13 =
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 English language, despite having a multitude of idioms, slang, vernacular, dialects, neologisms etc, can be easier to learn than other languages when it comes to the definite article. I am referring to the word ‘the’.
English nouns have no gender; the language doesn’t have the complex German structure of declension when the word ‘the’ changes depending if the noun is the subject, object or indirect object.
However, it’s not all plain sailing. English speakers employ declension when it comes to pronouns. Please allow me to illustrate:
A cuckoo clock, invented in Germany (not Switzerland, as is often believed).
I bought this clock from a friend so it now belongs to me. It is my clock, it is mine.
However, with the wrong declension:
Me bought this clock from a friend so it now belongs to mine. It is I clock, it is my.
Last night, a level 6 class (aged around 10) were having a lesson on conservation. The examples were all in the second person (your), and the students were having problems changing the pronoun. Hence, this blog:
Let’s go to work
Let’s keep it simple. There are three cases:
the subject, the object and the possessive
I, Me, Mine
In our example I bought this clock from my friend, the first noun is ‘I’ (subject)
so it now belongs to me. (object)
It is my clock, it is mine. (possessive)
Now … let’s practice
I // me // my or mine
you // you // your or yours
he // him // his
she // her // her or hers
we // us // our or ours
they // them // their or theirs
EXAMPLE: What can you do to stay healthy ?
I can exercise. Being healthy is important to me. These are my weights. They are mine.
How about changing the pronoun ? Tell me about this man:
He is very funny. Many people like him. It is his dog. The dog is his.
Tell me about this lady
— is very happy. I can not beat — in a game. — racket (bat) is very expensive. It is —-.
Let’s use ‘you’
— can wash your hair. I will buy some cologne for — . It is —- cologne, it is —– .
Tell me about these people
—- are American. If you go to the USA, maybe you will meet —-. This is —– flag, it is ——.
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.
Thay Paul's Notes 