Kath & Kim:"Party" (Season 1, Episode 7)
Kath, Kim and Sharon are getting ready for Kath's hen night. Note how"You're not just a pretty face" can go from compliment to insult with the omission of just one word.
Panos Athanasopoulos is professor of linguistics and English language at Lancaster University, who believes that the the language you speak in reality can affect the way you think. Do you agree? Read the article on the link above and post your thoughts in the comments section.
Michael Sandel presents a special BBC Democracy Day edition of The Public Philosopher, recorded in the Palace of Westminster with an audience of MPs, peers and the public. This is an extended version of the recording broadcast on Radio 4's Today programme.
Group 7 C1 2:00pm Class Language Leader Advanced Unit 1.1
Employment and Education
Discussion, Reading, Listening & Vocabulary
Homework
Read over the audio-script (p.170) and note down any new collocations, expressions or verb structures.
With public holidays falling over the next two weekends, our next lesson won't be until Saturday 9th May. In the meantime though, you can practice your English by completing the following assignment. Read the articles in the links below and listen to the podcast from The Public Philosopher. We can discuss your answers, views and observations when we meet again in May - by which time we will know the result.
The U.K. Election (May 7th 2015)
Discussion:
What do you know about this year’s U.K. Election (the parties/the leaders/the issues)?
Will the outcome have any effect here in Europe/Italy (politically/economically)?
Michael Sandel presents a special BBC Democracy Day edition of The Public Philosopher, recorded in the Palace of Westminster with an audience of MPs, peers and the public. This is an extended version of the recording broadcast on Radio 4's Today programme. See also: http://seansstudypage.blogspot.it/2015/04/election-time-english.html
Income inequality is not good for wellbeing (Jonathan 3:15)
Luck - social class - not hard work (Alice 3:50)
Image of a banker - overweight man behind a desk (4:25)
Fair pay should reflect hard work (5:00)
Against
Creativity and intelligence also important (Wes 5:25)
Football players (6:00)
Aggregate choice - Market (7:00)
People who create the most deserve the highest pay
Kaley’s (8:09) counter argument - it’s about the size of the pay difference.
soccer/football player
Harry (9:40) accident of birth argument - income inequality shouldn’t respond to these things in such a dramatic way. Effort can also be affected by upbringing. The justice of the universe - luck - the lottery of life. How can the lucky deserve this vast advantage (12:00) Moral arbitrariness.
Ceilia (13:00) intrinsic value of the work - choosing from behind the veil of ignorance (Theory argued by John Rawls in his book A Theory of Justice).
Different from the market argument as markets don’t pass judgment on the intrinsic importance of the activities.
Charles (15:30) counter argument - nurse/doctor theoretically should be paid more in a free market as the rich would pay anything to to be cured but better to be in a society that sees health as a right. Huge banker’s pay doesn’t reflect risk therefore unfair. Intrinsic value should be one factor but not the only one.
Michael (19:00) best way to put an intrinsic value on something because it is the most efficient otherwise - hard to define. Redistribution - through tax?
Jonathan (21:00) Why people go into the profession - non pecuniary benefits. (22:00 - unsatisfying job joke)
Harry’s Question (24:00) To what extent do the pay differences we observe today reflect luck?/effort and other things we can control?
Thomas (25:00) poor boy made good argument. Steve Jobs example need luck + effort
Zariff (28:00) In Western Economies there are fewer obstacles to advancement therefore a lot of opportunities.
29:30 If we had a perfect meritocracy society (perfect equality of opportunity) then would the results of the market economy be fair? (Zariff - agrees, Harry - disagrees - effort/willingness also depends on circumstance and luck)
Lillian (32:40) Yugoslavian experience - distinctions still appear when people capture the choice - access to the market/executive/media.
Neer (34:00) Even if we had equal opportunity there would still be differential rewards and those differences still might exist because of luck (i.e. being born into a society that values and prizes (in renumeration and status) certain skills and jobs is a matter of luck)
(36:00) 2 Dimensions to luck in a meritocracy (1) Whether we deserve the talents and skills that we use to get ahead (2) Whether we deserve to live in a society that values the skills that we have in abundance.
Conclusion
Identified the competing philosophical principles of fairness in defining what is fair pay:
contribution?
effort?
markets?
Market “fairness” skewered by inequality of opportunity
Perfect Meritocracy would still be influenced by luck
Looking for a film (on DVD or at the cinema) to stimulate the brain cells over the two consecutive holiday weekends? This article from The Guardian "I watch therefore I am", offers some interesting choices:
This teacher decided to mark a flyer that came through the letterbox from UKIP. The U.K. Independence Party is (in)famous for its anti-EU and anti-immigration policies. For a party so proud of its "Englishness", they may need to brush up on their own English. Click on the image to see the full photo.
In yesterday's post I lamented the grammatical confusion caused by Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay (Eric Clapton's Lay Down Sally is another culprit). Don't despair however, you can still use pop music to improve your English and here are five songs that use lie and lay correctly in their titles and/or lyrics.
Next week's lesson will focus on the financial crisis providing another opportunity to look at commonly confused words, the features of natural speech as well as alternatives to if in conditional constructions.
In preparation I would like you to have a listen to this podcast on BBC iPlayer and have a think about the questions below.
Should a banker be paid more than a nurse? Professor Michael Sandel at the LSE
1. How important are the following factors in determining what someone is paid?
effort creativity intelligence the market wealth creation contribution to social well-being luck (to be born with certain skills and/or to be born in a time and into a society that values those skills) 2. Which views expressed in the podcast are closest to your own?
3. What is the veil of ignorance?
4. What does the businessman say about the relationship between the free market and health?
5. To what extent do pay differences reflect luck?
6. How important is the access to government and media in this debate?
Lie Lay Lain (Intransitive) Lay Laid (transitive) Lie on the bed , you look tired. I fell asleep as soon as I lay on the bed. He lays the table for dinner every evening at 6 pm. He laid the table before going out to get some wine.
Personally I blame Bob Dylan for this confusion.
Although in short and in brief are synonymous, meaning succinctly, briefly and shortly are not. The doctor will see you shortly, you won't have to wait much longer = the doctor will see you very soon. Your tutor will speak to you briefly before the exam to explain the format = the tutor will spend a small amount of time explaining the format to you.
Conservation
Taken from Unit 2.2 Language Leader Advanced Vocabulary
Check where the stress falls on multi-syllable words. biodiversity, emissions, endangered, irreversible, renewable, sprawl
Going Further:
New Vocabulary, Notes & Corrections
Vocabulary: hamper, batter, docile/tame, people friendly (see also kid friendly, user friendly), the icing on the cake.
Idioms for improvising: off the cuff, off the top of my head, thinking on your feet
Corrections:
put money on into something (business, cause, activity, charity)
Notes:
In any kind of presentation of any length it is important to use signposting language so that your structure is clear to the audience. Effective signposting also emphasises your main points and makes them more memorable.
Eye contact is important - don't look up or down but make sure you maintain eye contact with everyone in your audience.
For more notes and advice on giving presentations see: http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/32233573/Presentations
I am a freelance teacher based at the British Council in Rome. This is a Blog for my students, not only to keep up with what we are doing in class but also to ask questions, share ideas and practise English.
