Language, Listening and Film: The Conversation (1974)

Although winning the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and being nominated for 3 Academy Awards, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation was somewhat overshadowed by the director's other release that year - The Godfather Part II. However, The Conversation has endured as a bona fide classic and one of the best American films ever made. What's more, Coppola's slow burning thriller about a surveillance expert (Gene Hackman, giving one of his finest performances) who realises that his recordings may have murderous consequences, is even more relevant today as CCTV surveillance and internet privacy are once again causing considerable concern the world over. For students of English the film of particular interest as it highlights the importance of intonation. The film's mystery hinges on one line of recorded dialogue - and where the stress falls in the sentence.
He'd kill us if he got the chance turns out to be very different from He'd kill us if he got the chance as the lead character finds out too late.

Vocabulary Spot: All Groups, The Dog Days (of Summer)

Dog Days

The term "Dog Days" refers to hot, sultry summer weather - alluding to the period between early July and early September when Sirius (the Dog Star) rises and sets with the sun. The ancient Romans called this phenomenon dies caniculares which was translated as "dog days"in the first half of the 1500s.  The phrase can also be used to describe a period of stagnation e.g. when business is slow.

For more on the origin of Dog Days go to the Dictionary.com Blog.


Dog Days in popular culture:
Dog Day Afternoon (1975, Sidney Lumet)

The Dog Days Are Over Florence and the Machine

Vocabulary Spot: All Groups, Fixed Expressions - Home & Dry

Home and dry - is an informal expression meaning safe or successfully achieving your goal. There is also a variation used in Australia and New Zealand - home and hosed. 

Example: Just one more exam to go, once we've finished the Listening, we'll be home and dry. 

Vocabulary Spot: All Groups. Fixed Expressions - Leaps & Bounds

(by) Leaps & Bounds 
 To make unexpectedly rapid progess   ⇒ Her condition improved by leaps and bounds. 

Paul Kelly Leaps & Bounds 

LUISS Business School at the British Council Workshop 3

Workshop 3
Friday 19th June 2015
10 am - 1 pm

Covering Letters

Interview Skills

Getting an Internship/First Job
http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/47733197/Getting%20A%20Law%20Job
Functional Language
http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/68873182/Useful%20Phrases%20For%20Covering%20Letters%20and%20Emails
STAR Technique
http://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/star-technique-competency-based-interview

Marketing & Communications Internship

https://jobs.sap.com/job/London-Marketing-InternStudent-in-London%2C-UK-Job-LND/273654000/?feedId=118200&utm_source=Indeed

Human Resources Internship
http://www.indeed.co.uk/cmp/International-Alert/jobs/Human-Resource-Intern-2e755c36802b92eb

Interviews
Top 10 Interview Questions & Best Answers

Fillers
http://www.ieltsspeaking.co.uk/using-fillers/

LUISS Business School at the British Council - Workshop 2

LUISS Business School at the British Council
Group 2

Workshop 2

Class

• The link between grammar, pronunciation and listening
• Coping with fast connected speech
• The Third Conditional - exercise http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/32174148/Conditionals%20and%20Pronunciation
• Features of English intonation and pronunciation - vowels, voiced and unvoiced sounds http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442648/Pronunciation
• Using film to help with listening and pronunciation http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442630/Film%20Lessons
• The features of natural English - Annie Hall http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442613/Annie%20Hall

Going Further:

• Conditionals overview - http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/11442621/Conditionals
• Conditionals in song - http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/77337743/Conditionals%20In%20Song
• Conditionals and video listening - Silver Linings Playbook - http://seansenglishclassroom.pbworks.com/w/page/76748846/Silver%20Linings%20Playbook
• For a copy of the phonemic chart go to http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/phonemic-chart

Homework

Do some research on the internet for an English language position or internship that you may be interested in applying for. You could start with a site like http://www.jobsite.co.uk or the website for a particular company, law firm, N.G.O. or financial/medical/academic institution e.g. http://www.who.int/employment/en/. Print off the details and have the information ready to bring in for our (final) workshop on 19/06. 

British Council at ANIA Lesson 13

Lesson 13 
(Tuesday 9th June 2015)

Group 5 
C2

12:30 pm

Class

1. Commonly Confused Words: foreign/strange, thin/slim, tall/high classic/classical. See also: historic/historical, continuous/continual, childish/childlike, similar/alike, exhibit/exhibition
2. Listening Skills - the features of natural spoken English 

Homework/Holiday Work

1. Grammar Audit: Take a look at the yellow "Corpus" boxes that appear throughout your text book. Which of these areas are you confident with and which do you need more practice on. Which of these would you like us to look at in more depth come September?
2. Exam Listening Practice: have a go at the CPE listening exam in the Youtube video below. Don't treat it as a test but analyse the question and task types, what you need to listen for and possible distractors in the multiple choice questions. Which tasks did you find easiest/hardest? 

You will find an answer key in the notes underneath the video and a link to the audio transcripts. 

For more online tests go to: 

http://www.examenglish.com/cpe/CPE_listening1.htm

CPE Handbook 

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams/proficiency/how-to-prepare/

3. Writing Practice: Take a look at the Writing Folders in your textbook. If you want to practice the exam tasks or preparation exercises, I will be happy to give you feedback. Either email your writing directly to me or leave hard copies with Alessandra on the 4th floor and I will nick them up when I am in during July. 

4. Natural English: Notice the features of natural English in this lesson based on a scene from Woody Allen's Annie Hall. 

Group 7
C1

2:00 pm

Class

1. Vocabulary in context - GET
2. Modals
3. Future Forms

Homework/Holiday Work

Finish reading the notes and complete the exercise on modal auxiliary verbs in the link above.