All Students - Take advantage of the Rome Film Festival

The Rome Film Festival starts today and runs until 23rd October at the Auditorium. This is a great opportunity to see films in original language from all over the world. Subtitles are provided in Italian and projected on a separate smaller screen below the main screen so as not to obstruct the images. As well as the films, there are many live events including Q & A sessions with Oliver Stone, Viggo Mortensen and Meryl Streep. Most tickets to the films and the live events cost €10 and there are several retrospectives and special screenings which are free. To download the programme go to http://www.romacinemafest.it/en/rome-film-fest/programme/

Hope to see you there this weekend!






Here are some suggested highlights of the English language films:

• Moonlight
• Manchester By The Sea
• The Last Laugh
• Birth of a Nation
• Captain Fantastic
• Florence Foster Jenkins
• Hunt For The Wilder-people
• Lion
• Sing Street
• Tom Hanks retrospective (free entry)
• Retrospective of American political cinema (free entry) 

ANIA A2.2 Group 2 (12:30pm)

Class

Introduction to phonemic chart

For vowels ask 3 questions:

Is it long or short?

Is the tongue at the top, in the middle or at the bottom of the mouth?

Do you make the sound at the front, middle or back of the mouth?

For consonants think about:

How do you make the sound?

Where do you make the sound?

Is the sound made by vibrating the vocal chords or not ( is it voiced or unvoiced)?

Treat the chart like a map and it will help you find where to make the sound.

Homework

1. Finish the "hidden names" game.
2. Download the Sounds Right App for iPad iPhoneor an equivalent phonemic chart for your tablet or phone or android to use in class. 

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/apps/sounds-right

ANIA B2.3 Group 5 (2pm)

Class

Vocabulary from warm up free speaking:

Cold symptoms: headache (note pronunciation /eik/), cough (noun and verb), blocked nose, runny nose, sore throat.

Gardening: prune/cut back a hedge/plant/tree, water plants/the garden, rake leaves, mow the lawn/cut the grass, plant a tree/seeds.

Lexical precision and connotation:

Walk - stride (strode, stridden), stroll, shuffle, trudge

Writing Skills

Making requests and writing concisely

(Adapted from BEC Masterclass p. 29)

ANIA C2 Group 8 (2pm)

Class
What is bravery to you?
Who is someone you admire for their bravery?

Reclaiming Fear by Magda Szubanksi
http://player.themoth.org/#/?actionType=ADD_TO_FAVORITES&storyId=561

Magda Szubanski  is an Australian television and film actress, comedian and writer. She is best known internationally for her work on Babe and Happy Feet and their sequels but is much loved in Australia for her TV comedy work especially on the series Kath & Kim. Her memoir, Reckoning was released in 2015 and won Book of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards in May 2016.


1. Vocabulary
publicist
unflattering
to eviscerate (If you described yourself as feeling eviscerated, how would you feel?)
(fear of) the mob
triage

Collocations & Expressions
to relish the prospect
to be beside yourself with (usually followed by a strong emotion e.g. joy, anger, grief, despair)
(to be) in the thick of it/something

Cultural References
terry towelling hat 
Jenny Craig 
Kirstie Alley
to mow the lawn 
bathers
newsstand 
lounge room




Based on the title of the story and the key words, expressions and references we have discussed, what do you think Szubanksi will talk about?

2. Listening

1. How did the news of the paparazzi photos make her feel? Why?
2. What does she think people really mean when they praise her for being brave? 
3. What happened to her father in 1943?
4. Why does she feel conflicted about her father’s role in the war?
5. What happened when she was 9 years old that changed her perception of both WWII and her father?
6. How did the documentary make her feel?
7. What surprised her about her father’s reaction to the documentary and how did this change their relationship?
8. At what point did she conquer her fear?
9. What is the great privilege she acknowledges at the end of the talk?

Apart from vocabulary, what features of Australian English did you notice?

Homework
Listen to the recording again, this time noticing the new vocabulary from today.

Going Further

• Magda Szubanksi's comedy

• Live Stories from ABC Australia - Soundcloud link - including Reclaiming Fear 

https://soundcloud.com/abc-conversations/live-stories-vol-6-true-stories-told-live-on-stage

• The Moth https://themoth.org

ANIA C1 Group 6 (12:30pm)

Class
The link between pronunciation, listening and grammar. How noticing the features of fast connected speech can help you identify grammatical structures more effectively.

http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/32174148/Conditionals%20and%20Pronunciation

Homework
Look at the sentences again. Which words/syllables were stressed? What happened to the once that weren't? Think about:

Assimilation

1. Anticipatory/regressive -  becomes more like the next sound - most common in fast connected speech
2. Retrospective/progressive - becomes more like the preceeding sound
3. Fusion - two sounds merge usually making an affricate

Bad man (place) /bæbmɑn/

Good times* (voice) /gʊttɑɪmz/

Good night  (manner) /gʊnnɑɪt/

Gonna, gimme etc /gɪmmi/

Have to, used to are examples of progressive devoicing /haftə/

/juːstə/

Would you, caught you examples of fusion - /kɔːʈʃuː/

/wʊdʒuː/

*double tt consonant like in Italian - extra long closure followed by a release. 

Elision

Loss of /t/ and /d/ sounds

Handbag /hambæg/

Elision of vowels: she's, geography, police, bottle. /ʃiːz dʒɒgrəfiˑ plɪːs bɒtl/

Insertion

Approximants /r/ /j/ / w/

My aunt, your uncle, how awful, I understand, go under, to others, be optimistic

/mɑɪjaːnt jɔːrʌŋkl hɑʊwɔːfʊl aɪʌndəstænd gɑʊwʌndə tuːwʌðəz biːjɒptəmIstIk/

He didn't watch tv or go to work

Semi vowel /j/ helps move from a front closed vowel /i:/ to a back half open one /ɔː/

ANIA B2.3 Group 5 (2pm)

Class
Business Travel 
1. Vocabulary
queue (noun and verb)
Collocations
fasten (your) seatbelt
make a reservation
free of charge
leave a tip
Pronunciation
aisle
Corrections
take get a pen
more quicker much quicker

2. Comparative and Superlative Forms
Check the rules here http://www.eflnet.com/tutorials/adjcompsup.php
Irregular Forms
good, better, the best
little, less, the least
Intensifiers
Much better
Much more beautiful
Phrases
more and more
less and less

3. Writing Short Letters & Emails

Today's material was taken from the BEC Masterclass Workbook pp. 14 - 15, 18.

Homework
Highlight useful phrases from today's writing examples. They could be useful for our class next week.

ANIA 2.2 Group 2 (12:30 pm)

Class

• Vocabulary Skills

Activities to help you learn a word (see previous blogpost)

• Dictionary Skills - words with several meanings e.g. cool (trendy), mild (not very strong), hot (spicy), warm (friendly), bright (intelligent).

• New Vocabulary (click on the word to get more information from the Collins online dictionary) 

trendy

straight

leaf (plural leaves)

handwriting

Homework

1. Finish the exercises on the worksheet - questions 4a, 4b (opposites)
2. Practice today's vocabulary tasks using one or two new words from today's lesson