I hope your Christmas is as sweet as Tim wants it to be, though I don't expect "the white wine in the sun" to be part of it. To make sense of this line you need to know that Tim Minchin, one of the most brilliant and witty people on the planet, is from Australia, where it's the middle of summer now. Do you fancy Christmas in summer? Then Australia IS the place for you!
OK, so summer is definitely over, gone and done with. Now is the time to pull up our sleeves and get to serious work. For some of you it's the final year of your studies, so some big tasks are ahead of you. For others it is just the beginning. All of you, however, are here with me for a bit of a distraction from your main course of studies, i.e. to develop your command of English. I hope the blog project will give you an opportunity to share some experiences, thoughts, favourites of all sorts, anything you feel like talking about at a given moment.
This week, the big news in the English-speaking world is Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize for literature. I was just stunned! He had been mentioned as a possible candidate by fans, but I don't think many people had considered him to be a likely choice. I am thrilled of course, and all this talk that his lyrics is not REAL literature is just hogwash, although my personal candidate in English-language literature is and has always been Philip Roth.
So far, Dylan has not said a word about his Nobel win. He held a concert yesterday just as it had been planned, but since he never speaks directly to the public - this is just his style - he made no reference to it. Those who know Dylan a bit are not very surprised. Here is President Obama's account of his encounter with the bard during his White House performance:
"Here's what I love about Dylan: He was exactly as you'd expect he would be. He wouldn't come to the rehearsal; usually, all these guys are practicing before the set in the evening. He didn't want to take a picture with me; usually all the talent is dying to take a picture with me and Michelle before the show, but he didn't show up to that. He came in and played 'The Times They Are A-Changin'.' A beautiful rendition. The guy is so steeped in this stuff that he can just come up with some new arrangement, and the song sounds completely different. Finishes the song, steps off the stage — I'm sitting right in the front row — comes up, shakes my hand, sort of tips his head, gives me just a little grin, and then leaves. And that was it — then he left. That was our only interaction with him. And I thought: That's how you want Bob Dylan, right? You don't want him to be all cheesin' and grinnin' with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about the whole enterprise. So that was a real treat."
Here it is, the last post in this semester. I know you're gonna hate me for this, but I couldn't resist it :D So, below you can see a nice set of words, some of which should really be called determiners rather than adjectives (no matter, really), but more importantly, words which cause a lot of confusion and frustration to learners of English in Poland and elsewhere. The list is not VERY long, so perhaps you will manage to take it in before you forget about studying for the summer.
There is one more thing I want to ask you, more important one actually. I do this every year, so why not now: PLEASE spend some of your holiday time reading books. It doesn't even matter what they are, it might be pretty lightweight stuff, but do give yourself this luxury of sharing another person's thoughts and ideas, diving into an author's mind, and stretching your imagination. Choose something that you know will be rewarding for you, something that will let you forget about everything that is going on around you. Don't you love this feeling?
It would be excellent if you chose a foreign language book - Spanish, French, Italian, English, whatever works for you. But if you've had enough of that and would rather read in Polish, fine! You know what our first post-holiday English lesson is going to be about, don't you? ;)
Good luck with all your exams, and then have a wonderful, relaxing summer, full of new experiences and inspirations!
Test and exam time is approaching! On this occasion I would like to share with you a a nice list of idioms and expressions you can learn to impress your readers. And your English teacher ;) If you have problems understanding any of them, ask for help in the comments - I'll do my best to explain them to you.
Shakespeare's big anniversary is approaching - it's 400 years since his death on 23rd of April. See the video below if you want to understand why he is so beloved by speakers of English around the world. There are many, many reasons, but his use of the language is what makes him THE master.
Try the quiz below to test yourself on a few of the hundreds of English phrases which entered common usage by means of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets:
Here is a trailer for the film I am going to watch with my MA studies groups. Don't watch the trailer if you want to avoid spoilers - as many other trailers these days, it reveals a few important points in the story. With the recent developments around women's rights in Poland, I think this film should be obligatory viewing in schools and universities. Whether you identify yourself as a feminist or not, you must be aware of how hard women had to fight for their rights back then, and how much we take them for granted. If you haven't seen it yet, come and join us on Wednesday 13 April, 11.20 am., room 513A.
Here is a TREAT for you! I think this is the most enjoyable interview I have ever heard, and I HAVE heard a lot! You can hear David Tennant, the star of British TV, film, and theatre, talking to an American host Richard Ridge not only about his first New York performance (in Shakespeare's Richard II) but also about the beginnings of his career, his other projects, his experience of stage fright, his encounters with such big names as Michael Gambon and Maggie Smith (when making one of Harry Potter movies), and many many other topics. At the end, the host host says, "Thank you for one of the best nights, and I've been doing it for a long time!" (I'm afraid you need to let the commercial run before the interview begins.)
Let's be honest - practicing irregular verbs is not very exciting. Yet, you really need to know them through and through, or you will keep struggling with English grammar. There are so many other things to have under control when making English sentences that you need to make these verb form choices practically automatic.
In order to make practicing a bit less tedious and boring, I am placing a link to a website where you can take a few online quizzes. Have a go to see if your irregular verbs in English are as good as you need them to be. Here it is: Irregular verbs practice.
This year Britain and theatre lovers around the world are celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The institution that is most strongly connected with the Bard is the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Watch the video below to find out how they are going to celebrate the anniversary and how they want to involve the public in their projects.
The second video shows some kids who became involved in the RSC's educational project. Listen to them to see how excited they are about what they did there, and how Shakespeare's work is still very much alive in British culture.
The third clip, which I have just added, is a BBC Radio 4 voice recording of what Shakespearean English really sounded like. Interestingly, the actor is Ben Crystal, our favourite linguist's son. Then David Crystal discusses the differences between present day English and 16th and 17th century English. I'm sure it's worth your 5 minutes' attention :)
