Listening Practice - Pausa Caffè 7 ottobre

Coffee Break (Pausa Caffè) is a radio show in English and Italian broadcast every Tuesday from 11:30am  on Radio Stella Città



This week's programme is a discussion (starting at 17:20) on local tourism including interviews with the town councillor in charge of tourism (Vincenzo D'Antò) and a tourist from New Zealand (my Mum).

Post CPE Group Lesson 1

Lesson Content

• Goal setting
• Approaches to language learning
• Language and thinking

http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/84924628/Things%20To%20Think%20About%20When%20Starting%20A%20New%20Course

Error Correction

According to me - in my opinion (over translation)

The mistakes I do - the mistakes I make (collocation) 

Word stress: sucCESSful, amBIGuous (but note change in the noun ambiGUity)

Pronunciation of suffixes e.g. researchers (countable plural - the people) research ( uncountable therefore always singular - the work)

Homework

(1) Go to the Birmingham Grid website and take the test to find out what intelligence you are. How could you use this to help your language learning?http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm

(2) New vocabulary - set yourself the goal of learning 8 new words (or fixed expressions, idioms or collocations) this week - remember the 8x8 rule. Have a look at the following link and think about what techniques work best for you. Also consider why collocation is so important when it comes to learning and remembering new vocabulary. 

http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/41184334/Vocabulary

(3) Have a look at the proposed course outline for this term and let me know what you think.
http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/86820556/Post%20CPE

Next week we will continue our discussion on the relationship between language and thinking, this time focussing on how the tenses are organised in English. I will post the links for this lesson closer to the date. Have a good week. 

Post CPE Group - Introduction

Hi Guys,
Have a look at the short video above and tell me what you think tomorrow.
You can also find links to your assigned reading below:

Marco How ‘seeing’ a language can help learners retain it | British Council Voices  http://blog.britishcouncil.org/2013/11/26/how-seeing-a-language-can-help-learners-retain-it/?utm_source=facebook-teachingenglish&utm_medium=wallpost&utm_campaign=bc-teachingenglish-facebook

Lorenzo Relatively speaking: do our words influence how we think? | Education | theguardian.com http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jan/29/how-words-influence-thought

Paola  A thousand words for death | Books | The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/13/a-thousand-words-for-death-lexicon-dying-david-crystal?CMP=fb_gu

Giulia 10 grammar rules you can forget: how to stop worrying and write proper | Science | The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/sep/30/10-grammar-rules-you-can-forget

Alessandra  Can Your Language Influence Your Spending, Eating, and Smoking Habits? - The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/09/can-your-language-influence-your-spending-eating-and-smoking-habits/279484/

Maria Bianca  The Relationship between Language Learning and Multiple Intelligences http://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/the-relationship-between-language-learning-and-multiple-intelligences-education-essay.php#

Valerio Speaking proper: does it matter if we can't pronounce mispronunciation? | Science | The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/mar/11/speaking-pronounce-mispronunciation-english-elocution-expresso-nucular

Song of the Week #2 "Angie" - The Rolling Stones

Martina has selected Angie by the Rolling Stones to discuss in next week's lesson (8th October).
Angie was released in 1973 and went to No. 1 in the US and top 5 in the UK. The song features on the album Goat's Head Soup, which is now generally considered to have marked the end of the Stones' "golden age".

Goats Head Soup

Think about how the song could help you with your English - look at the vocabulary (especially fixed expressions, metaphors, idioms and collocations), the pronunciation (rhythm and rhyme), the meaning, importance, background to the song or what the song means to you personally.



Angie, Angie, 
when will those clouds all disappear?
Angie, Angie, 
where will it lead us from here?
With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats
You can't say we're satisfied
But Angie, Angie, 
you can't say we never tried
Angie, you're beautiful, 
but ain't it time we said good-bye?
Angie, I still love you, 
remember all those nights we cried?
All the dreams we held so close seemed to all go up in smoke
Let me whisper in your ear:
Angie, Angie, where will it lead us from here?
Oh, Angie, don't you weep, all your kisses still taste sweet
I hate that sadness in your eyes
But Angie, Angie, ain't it time we said good-bye?
With no loving in our souls and no money in our coats
You can't say we're satisfied
But Angie, I still love you, baby
Ev'rywhere I look I see your eyes
There ain't a woman that comes close to you
Come on Baby, dry your eyes
But Angie, Angie, ain't it good to be alive?
Angie, Angie, they can't say we never tried
Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/the-rolling-stones/angie-lyrics/#Qe68OVh1oX3QMDHl.99

D'Amico Shipping B2 Course Lesson 12

Lesson 12
Pronunciation Workshop continued.

Things to think about:
Consonants:

• Closed Vocal Tract - the flow of air is obstructed in some way.
• Voiced or Unvoiced?
• Place of Articulation - Where do you make the sound?
• Mode of Articulation - How do you make the sound?

Vowels:

• Open Vocal Tract
• Duration: long or short?
• Tongue Position: front/central/back
• Tongue Height: high (closed)/ mid /back (open)

All of these elements are reflected in the organisation of the phonemic chart.

(1) Places of Articulation

(2) The Organisation of the Phonemic Chart

(3) Identifying Sounds _ Practice:"Hidden Names" from Pronunciation Games (Hancock, CUP 1995)

(4) Changing Intonation - Changing Meaning

Song of the Week: Bono - Dreaming With Tears In My Eyes.

From the album The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers - A Tribute 


My heart is longing for you, love

I cared for you more then you knew

Though you have broken each promise

And yesterday's dreams are untrue


Alone, I'll be yearning tomorrow

When sunshine brings memories of you

My sunshine will turn into sorrow

As I dream of the love we once knew


Why should I always be lonesome

When sunny and blue are the skies

While shadows and loneliness linger

I'm dreaming with tears in my eyes


Why did you promise me sweetheart

Never to leave me alone

Yesterday's sunshine is faded

Your love wasn't true like my own


Alone, I'll be yearning tomorrow

When sunshine brings memories of you

My sunshine will turn into sorrow

As I dream of the love we once knew


Why should I always be lonesome

When sunny and blue are the skies

While shadows of loneliness linger

I'm dreaming with tears in my eyes




Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/bono/dreaming-with-tears-in-my-eyes-lyrics/#OwOdlPOseV4FZUzp.99

D'Amico Shipping B2 Course Lesson 11

Class
Pronunciation workshop

'ea' spelling and vowel sounds

Pronunciation of regular past tense verbs - 'ed' endings.
Check: descended, anxiety, shuttered, barred, propped.

Today's exercises can be found on the pronunciation worksheet available here: http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442648/Pronunciation
To download the British Council Sounds Right App go to : http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/apps/sounds-right
When working on your computer you can also use this phonemic chart: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/phonemic-chart

Song of the week.

At the lesson today, Andrea suggested that we consider using songs in the English language as an extension to our studies. From next week onwards, someone will be assigned to present a song to the group for everyone to listen to and discuss. Choose a song you particularly like but also pay attention to how the song might be used to improve some aspect of your English. 

Consider: vocabulary (collocation, idioms etc), grammatical structures (e.g. "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd is a good example of how we use the past tense to talk about present wishes and hypotheticals) or pronunciation (rhyme schemes and rhythmn patterns).

Mirta will start the ball rolling with a song from The Cranberries. If you like you can post a Youtube link to the song in the comments section below.