Dickens' Day!

Today, February 7th  is the 207th anniversary of the birth of English author Charles Dickens! Here you have a cartoon to share with children. It is about the famous writer:

I am sure that celebrations and public readings of his work are being held all over the world. I don't read any of his books in my lessons but I am going to introduce him and his most famous books:

Oliver Twist: most people know the story of Oliver Twist. It is one of the most favourite books for children mainly after the movie's production.
David Copperfield: it is the tale of David Copperfield from his birth through to his maturity, what obstacles he faces in life and what friends he makes. With great characters it was Dickens' own personal favourite of all his novels.
A Christmas Carol: it's the classic story of how a bitter miser ( Mr. Scrooge) gets re-habilitated after being visited by three ghosts. The Ghosts' of Christmas Past, Present and Future show him visions of his life and of his influence on the others' life. On seeing things as they truly are, Scrooge changes his whole outlook on the world.

So, from now on, try to remember these three books from this famous writer, Charles Dickens!

By the way, I recommend to you a helpful blog if you want to dive into Dickens

Powerful music!

What’s up everybody??

This week I have another awesome, fun lesson for you with some popular new music: The hit song 7 Years by Lukas Graham.

When you first listen to this song (or if you’ve heard it before), you might be thinking, understanding this native English is really difficult! But guess what? It’s not native English!

That’s right, Lukas Graham is an English learner just like you, and just goes to show you how powerful music is for English fluency! That’s why today, we’ll be using his kick-ass song, 7 Years, to learn some great English vocabulary, expressions, slang, and even pronunciation!

Are you ready? Then let’s jump in, aww yeah!

Lyrics:

(Vocabulary in blue, pronunciation in red, cultural notes + grammar in green)

Once I was seven years old my mama told me
Go make yourself some friends or you’ll be lonely
Once I was seven years old

It was a big big world, but we thought we were bigger
Pushing each other to the limits, we were learning quicker
By eleven smoking herb and drinking burning liquor
Never rich so we were out to make that steady figure

Once I was eleven years old my daddy told me
Go get yourself a wife or you’ll be lonely
Once I was eleven years old

I always had that dream like my daddy before me
So I started writing songs, I started writing stories
Something about that glory, just always seemed to bore me
‘Cause only those I really love will ever really know me

Once I was 20 years old, my story got told
Before the morning sun, when life was lonely
Once I was 20 years old

I only see my goals, I don’t believe in failure
‘Cause I know the smallest voices, they can make it major
I got my boys with me at least those in favor
And if we don’t meet before I leave, I hope I’ll see you later

Once I was 20 years old, my story got told
I was writing about everything, I saw before me
Once I was 20 years old

Soon we’ll be 30 years old, our songs have been sold
We’ve traveled around the world and we’re still roaming
Soon we’ll be 30 years old

I’m still learning about life
My woman brought children for me
So I can sing them all my songs
And I can tell them stories
Most of my boys are with me
Some are still out seeking glory
And some I had to leave behind
My brother I’m still sorry

Soon I’ll be 60 years old, my daddy got 61
Remember life and then your life becomes a better one
I made the man so happy when I wrote a letter once
I hope my children come and visit, once or twice a month

Soon I’ll be 60 years old, will I think the world is cold
Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me
Soon I’ll be 60 years old
Soon I’ll be 60 years old, will I think the world is cold
Or will I have a lot of children who can warm me
Soon I’ll be 60 years old

Once I was seven years old, my mama told me
Go make yourself some friends or you’ll be lonely
Once I was seven years old

Notes:

Vocabulary + Expressions

Push (someone) to the limit – To make someone use their full capacity or capabilities (Ex: Running the marathon pushed him to his limit, but he was successful!)

Smoking herb – Smoking marijuana

Liquor – Alcohol

Make a steady figure – to make a reliable income

Glory – High honor gained from a notable achievement

Make it major – To be very successful, often famous

My boys – 1. A way to talk about your close (male) friends. 2. One’s sons (Ex.1 I’m going to a party with my boys, Ex.2 My boys are 4 and 8 years old)

Be in favor – To support a decision or cause

Everything I saw before me – Everything that I saw happening in front of me

Roam – To move about or travel aimlessly

My woman – My wife (This phrase could be seen as offensive in English, especially to feminists)

Leave (someone) behind – To abandon someone

The man – I believe that here Lukas Graham is referring to his father. We use the expression my/the old man to refer to our dad

Pronunciation

Lukas Graham is Danish, and if you hear him speak, you might notice a typicalScandinavian accent. However, you would never know this when he sings as he sounds British or American. He pronunces some sounds in a British way (like the r’s), and other sounds like an American. So I would highly recommend using this song to improve your pronunciation whether you’re learning British or American English.

Singing is an excellent way to improve your pronunciation, as it helps you learn the rhythm and flow of the language. Much of the pronunciation indicated is connected speech, or how native speakers shrink and link words together. Music that is rhythmic and rap are great for learning to implement this (like 7 years).

Once I – one-sai

Pushing each other – pushin’ ee-chuther

Drinking burning liquor – drinkin’ burnin’ lih-ka

Get yourself – geh-chor self

Started writing – Star-did wry-hin (Writing has a stop T)

About that glory – abouh thah glow-ree (Two more examples of stop T’s)

Just always – Jus-tall weez

Twenty – tweh-nee

Those in favor – tho-zin fay-vuh

Make it major – may-kit may-ja

And if we – ah-nif we

Later – lay-da

Thirty – Thur-dee (NOTE: Easy trick to not confuse 30 and 13–30 has a flap T  sound, similar to D, 13 has a regular t sound)

Songs have been – song-zuv been

Traveled around – travel duh-round

I can – ai-kin (Pronunciation of can in English)

Most of – mos-tuv

Sixty – six-dee

Had to – had-tuh

My brother – ma-bruh-tha

Better – beh-da

Made the man – may-thuh man

Wrote a letter once – ro-duh leh-dur wuns (Two more examples of flap T’s)

Will I – Wih-lai

Lot of – lodda

Grammar + Cultural Notes

I was 7 years old – Remember in English that we use the verb to beto talk about someone’s age (Ex. How old are you? I am 21 years old. I was 16 years old when I learned to drive a car. I will be 40 years old next year)

By eleven – In English, it is common to leave off the “years old” when talking about age (Ex. My son is 12. He died at 90. You will be 52 by the time she graduates high school.)

Smoking herb – 1. With verbs that end with –ing we often omit the g sound, so smoking becomes smokin’. 2. Herb’s pronunciation differs in American and British English: American – urb, British – hurb 

My daddy got 61 – Here you’ll see a grammatical error, where the verb to be isn’t used with age. This is not because Lukas Graham is not a native speaker, but rather it is colloquial (albeit incorrect) to use got with age. Even native speakers DON’T always use correct grammar, so don't feel bad if you make mistakes.

Make Learning FUN

When learning another language, motivation is a HUGE key to success, and making the process fun is one of the best ways to stay motivated. So if you enjoyed this article, I highly recommend you check out some of our other fun lessons (links below), AND our popular course, Fluent with Friends, which makes learning fun and powerful with the TV show Friends (which has been scientifically proven to be one of the best resources for learning English).

Another awesome way to stay motivated is by surrounding yourself with people who support your learning, and making friends with whom you can practice your English. 

Enjoy this lesson and want more like it? Have any clips or songs you’d like me to break down? 

British life and culture

A journalist is someone who investigates, collects or presents information. This can be presented through newspapeers, magazines, radio, television and the internet. Look at this video. It deeps into British life and culture.

When we talk about the written press in Britain there are some differences between a Tabloid and a Broadsheet, aren't they?
What do you think about having TV in the bedroom?

School lunches

This is an interesting video that reflects what children from all over the world eat at luch time.

Thinking of going to London?

Hi everyone! 

Is your family thinking of going to London? 

Here you have a real English video where you can visit the most famous places in the Capital of England.

Money maze for 4th graders

Have you ever visited the UK? 

Money comes in pounds and pence. 

Practise listening for numbers with this money maze.

 

Interesting exhibition

I had the opportunity to visit Palau Robert today!

P. Robert's room 1 celebrates the career of Roser Capdevila, The Triplets' creator and illustrator, sharing an exhibition about her which runs until April 27th 2014.

The exhibition uses her notes, drawings, toys and different tools to show how her work provides children and adults alike with a visual feast and lots of historical and autobiographical connections to be discovered.

As an example, do you know that the Bruixa Avorrida is based on a school teacher who punished the little Roser in drawing classes? it's fun, isn't it?

I really enjoyed! Thanks to Roser Capdevila for sharing her archive with us.

"It is a homage to the way Roser is, which is that of a fighter who wants to make a difference and make a better world" (Mercè Alsina, co-curator of the exhibition)

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French Fries sunbathing!

A German artist has created some unusual sculptures using potatoes wearing sunglasses!

Peter Pink, who describes himself as a 'nonsense maker' uses vegetables to create surreal art in public spaces.

One of them sees potatoes on a beach, enjoying the weather by sunbathing. 

If you want to create this particular beach scene, you'll need cocktail umbrellas and tiny plastic sunglasses.

Here you have another activity for your summer days!

World celebrates Madiba's birthday!

Today is International Mandela's Day. 

News, famous people and leaders from all over the world have expressed their best wishes to Nelson Mandela on his 95th birthday today. He's still in a hospital in Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, because his health is weak. 
But, why is Nelson Mandela so important?
Because  he went to prison for 27 years and he stood up  just for what he believed in. He believed that black people should have as many rights as white people. He sas offered to get out of prison but only if he gave up fighting for what he believed in but he refused!
 
So, from this blog I want to celebrate his birthday by sharing with you this video from BBC. 

Children in South Africa sing to celebrate Nelson Mandela's Birthday!