Type up a good copy of your case brief - the more concise the better, try to get it down to a page.
Prepare your presentation of the brief (3 - 5 minutes). Use the signposting language from the example and think about what area you want to improve on from your last presentation.
Class
Reading Skills - Matching pp. 64 -65
Listening Skills p. 66
Vocabulary cut out/tear out/tear off a coupon intwined spot - n.b. difference spot = a short period between regular television or radio programmes that is used for advertising Homework
p. 66 question 5 - use the audio script on p. 144 to find words that fit the definitions.
Corrections - from the homework Spelling choice, then or than? ad, advert, advertisement Noun forms - articles - countable/uncountable - singular/plural a an everyday story, the Italian excellence, family values, Italian products abroad, plurals or uncountable noun when speaking generally - a regulation regulations Word Forms fits perfect perfectly c.f. a perfect fit Sentence Structure - Subjects When it was shown in some countries ⌃ was censored. (it was censored) It represents an era that now it's is almost lost. Going further
Keep adding your links and comments to the discussion on TV commercials. Keeping up an online discussion is a good way to practice your English and to try out new structures and vocabulary.
Homework Check key vocabulary from the reading. e.g. what do the following mean? to tread carefully lobby group to put an end to something to fight a losing battle open slather to gather data/statistics stiff penalties to get rid of to back down/retreat with your tail between your legs Also:
* rort = an Australasian word for a fraudulent or dishonest practice.
* a gravy train = a very easy job that gives you lots of money or benefits.
Idioms - their use depends on cultural, regional and social factors and sometimes the power relations between the speakers. Reading: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/22/language-idiom-red-herrings-skeletons. Some of the idioms discussed include: a red herring(a misleading clue), skeletons in the closet (a shameful secret), taking the mick(ey out of someone) (to mock/make fun of), Bob's your uncle(a simple way of achieving a successful result). Some idioms can date quickly e.g. martini yodel (a 1950's expression that means getting so drunk that you end up vomiting).
Ironclad (also iron plated, iron coated, cast iron) = covered or protected with iron or impossible to contradict, weaken, or change: e.g. an ironclad guarantee
Shooting fish in a barrel = ridiculously easy. The Mythbusters team tested and proved the accuracy of their interpretation of the idiom. If the fish does not die from the shot, it is quite likely to die from the shockwave. Before the days of refrigeration, fish were packed and stored in small barrels. The barrels were packed to the rim full of fish. Any shot that entered the barrel would hit at least one of them. Thus nothing can be easier than shooting fish in a barrel.
To waylay someone = (1) tostop or interrupt someone and detain them in conversation or trouble them in some other way: he waylaid me on the stairs, (2)to lie in wait for and attack, (3) to await and intercept unexpectedly.
Class Notes:
Reading
How well did the airline handle the situation?
What would you have done if you were Mrs Rabinowitz/the air steward?
Would the situation be any different if the Ultra Orthodox man had complained about sitting next to a gay person?
When a Christian bakery in Belfast was found guilty last year of discriminating against a gay man, by refusing his request for a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan on it, it became headline news around the world. It also divided people in Northern Ireland. Many there see it as a battle between freedom of conscience and the right to religious expression, and Northern Ireland's equality laws.
Listen to the discussion at 19:00 between Reverends Chris Hudson, David McIlveen and journalist Fionola Meredith.
What does each of them say about the case?
Which view do you find the most persuasive and why?
According to the speakers, what does the debate say about Northern Irish society?
Who do you think will win the appeal?
Do you think the case is more about discrimination, religious freedom or freedom of political expression?
Key Vocabulary
to impugn
to flaunt (n.b. flout and flaunt are commonly confused: Flaunt and flout may sound similar but they have different meanings. Flaunt means ‘display ostentatiously,’ as in tourists who liked to flaunt their wealth, while flout means ‘openly disregard (a rule or convention),’ as in new recruits growing their hair and flouting convention. It is a common error, recorded since around the 1940s, to use flaunt when flout is intended, as in the young woman had been flaunting the rules and regulations.)
Going Further
In the introduction and conclusion of the podcast, the presenter makes a number of puns - e.g. chewing over the case, temperatures are sure to rise, stir into the mix, half baked, digest the evidence, rise to the top (of the tin). What different possible meanings do these expressions have?
On My Heart is the second track on the 2016 album SVIIB by New York based indie rock band School of Seven Bells. The song features a number of food based idioms:
to feed someone a line = to deceive someone with false, insincere or exaggerated talk.
to stew = to be troubled or agitated.
to simmer = to be about to have an angry outburst.
[Verse 1]
It hurts to know
That you don't trust me
When you try to bust me
It only makes me trust you
Less to know that I don't get respect
When I've given you my word
And you go with what you heard
Instead you go and simmer through the night
Then we end up in a fight
And it's such a waste of time
Now I know you're feeding me a line
But you say that you're in love
But you're stewing all the time
[Verse 2]
I know you got a lot to question
That made a big impression
I know that you've been hurt for a while--why did you apologize
When it was before my time is an answer I will give you
And so when you call me on the phone
And you hear I'm not alone
No it doesn't mean that things have gone wrong
There was a you before me
There was a me before you
And that's the way it goes
[Chorus]
You don't need to worry on my heart
It's written one way
You won't give her the ground, just forget her
With me you're love-safe
With me you're love-safe
With me you're love-safe
With me you're love-safe
[Chorus]
You don't need to worry on my heart
It's written one way
You won't give her the ground, just forget her
With me you're love-safe
With me you're love-safe
With me you're love-safe
With me you're love-safe
[Outro]
With me you're love-safe
With me you're love-safe
With me you're love-safe
work (uncountable noun - some work, I have lots of work)
job (countable noun - a job, I work 3 jobs, I have many jobs to do)
overpaid = paid too much
underpaid = paid too little
tight deadline (If money or time is tight is means there is very little of it)
job security
shift work
(fashion) designer - a person who designs clothes
stylist - a person whose job is to arrange and coordinate food, clothes, etc. in a stylish and attractive way in photographs or films.
Vocabulary Skills
Create a lexical set around a particular job to help you remember new vocabulary e.g. Shop assistant: filling shelves, serving customers, changing window displays, chain (store), branch, refund, dealing with customer complaints.
Listening Skills
As you discovered in the lesson, there is often a lot of ambiguity when listening in English. For example the words patients and patience sound the same. Remember to always listen for other clues in the sentence to help you make the right choice and sometimes it will just be confusing as in the following sentence: A doctor needs lots of patience when dealing with lots of patients. Homework
Do some listening practice using a video or podcast. Check the audio script afterwards. What made the text confusing or ambiguous?
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.
