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By Maria Zabala Peña at: englishforeso@yahoo.es or mariazabalapena@gmail.com. For ESL without photocopies go to my other blog HERE

New!! VIDEO BLOGS on English for Communications and on English for Office Applications (Computers). See links below.

English for Communications. Click HERE. By Beatriz Papaseit Fernández and myself, María Zabala Peña.
English for Office Applications (Computers). Click. HERE. By Beatriz Papaseit Fernández and myself, María Zabala Peña.

Debates. Topics, models and expression. For and against team work

Level: intermediate and higher 

Students should be relatively fluent and be mature enough to bring arguments to class.

Materials: 

Projector

Enclosed docs:

  • Model text to project/read: "Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being your own boss"
  • Expressions/Vocabulary for debates
  • Model text to discuss: Junk food should be banned
  • List of topics for debates

Access docs  HERE 

Procedure:
A) 
  • Divide students in groups of 3/4. 
  • Assign roles within groups: Take notes of FOR argument/ take notes of  "Against Arguments"/ Take notes of language structures  (you can give the same roles to students)
  • Project the text: Advantages and  advantages and disadvantages of being your own boss. You may copy the text into a Teleprompter HERE
  • Students take notes according to their roles
  • Students share their notes 
B) 
  • Project and discuss the text: Expressions vocabulary for debates 
C) 
  • Project model text: Junk food
  • Encourage students to create sentences using the vocabulary/ expressions in step B) 
D) 
  • Project list of topics for debate
  • Each team creates a for/against text on a different/same? topic
  • Students share their text
Access docs  HERE 

Sources:
https://evajorgeteacher.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/for-against-opinion-essays.pdf
https://debatewise.org/31023-junk-food-should-be-banned/
https://www.myenglishpages.com/english/communication-lesson-useful-expressions-for-debating.php
https://debatewise.org/
https://www.teachenglishabroad.co/ultimate-guide-to-engaged-ells/100-esl-debate-topics-that-will-get-your-students-fired-up

Mary Beard. Meet the Romans

Are your students begging to watch a film at the end of the school year? Why not a bit of culture about the Roman Empire? 

Level: High

Length: about 60 min per Episode. 3 episodes in total 

Meet the Romans Professor Mary Beard looks beyond the stories of emperors, armies, guts, and gore to meet the everyday people at the heart of Ancient Rome's vast empire We still live in the shadow of ancient Rome - a city at the heart of a vast empire that stretched from Scotland to Afghanistan, dominating the West for over 700 years. Professor Mary Beard puts aside the stories of emperors and armies, guts and gore, to meet the real Romans living at the heart of it all.




1/3 : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rggk_H3jEgw

1/2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JFw8M4PBUI

1/3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UvG0LDeYBA


If the online links do not work, you can download the videos by clicking HERE




Dr. Florianne Koechlin: Do tomatoes speak?

Level:upper 

Procedure: Students reflect on questions. The video (14 min) contains the insights of Dr. Koechlin in relation to plant dignity. 

Vocabulary:

You are going to hear the following words. You may want to know what they mean.
Names of insects: Carterpillar, parasitic wasp, spider mites, winter moth.
Flowers/plants: marigolds , birch tree.
Tits = Small bird (tit bird)
Scent = smell (pay attention to pronunciation)
Mycorrhiza =A mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association between a green plant and a fungus

Before watching

Reflect on these questions 

  • Can plants communicate? 

  • Can a  scent/odor smell nasty to a plant?

  • Can plants network?

  • Do you know what the 5 human senses? Sight, touch, smell, hearing, taste 

  • Do plants know about their past? 

Watch the video to compare your answers and Dr. Koechlin’s

Questions:


  1. What does Dr.  Florianne Koechlin call a feat of communication?

  2. What are some of the actions that plants can carry out?

  3. Why is mycorrhiza important?

  4. What is the proof that a tomato plant can learn from experience?

  5. What is a plant, according to the speaker Dr. Koechlin?

  6. What are the consequences of seeing the plant as a SHE?

  7. Why does the comparison between animal and plant make sense?

  8. What did the committee that discussed plant dignity agree on?

What prize did the committee receive for their research?
9.What examples are given on plant mistreatment?
 
To finish:
Has this talk changed the way you see plants? Justify your answer

To see the KEY or download the video, click HERE

Amazing Street Art : 15 artists

Level:  Advanced.  Particularly geared towards Art Students 
Video length: 21 minutes
Timing for full task: 1 hour 45 minutes. 
As the task has 15 sections you can adapt the length of the task to your needs 
Procedure: 

1. You are going to watch a video that features 15 famous street artists' work.You will hear these words in the video. Make sure you know what they mean.

Suffer a bad rap, Push the boundaries of, To be forged by, To be coy about, A myriad of emotions, Overlapping, Layers, Snarling wolf (dog), Bystander, Mundane, Whimsical, 
Electric meeters, Devious, Sewer drains, To crack a smile, Hold on to your hat ( An expression warning someone of a big surprise), Rubble, To be awash with (full), A quote ( pay attention to the meaning of this word in this video: David Bowie part), Cut-outs, Lurking, Blazing, To see a surge

Remember that using sophisticated vocabulary in your composition is a must. You may introduce some of these words in your future essays. 

2. Read the questions before you listen to the different sections. 

Concrete Canvas: Gregor Wosik.  

  1. Use your own words to explain what “Optical Illusion” and “Concrete Canvas” are

  2.  Who inspired Grogo Wosik? 


Sean Yoro: Tidal murals

  1. What are tidal murals?

  2. What is Sean Yoro aim? 


Stathis Tsavalias. Insane 51 Hidden Art

  1. How does this artist create an optical 3D illusionary effect? 

  2. .What is this method called? 

  3. What does the bystander see? 


Tom Bob’s Reinventions

  1. For Tom Bob nothing is useless. What type of elements does this artist choose to work with? 

  2. According to the voice-over, What is the most common reaction to Tomb Bob artwork?

Ray Media Jaens. Dia de los muertos 

 10. What is the main material used to create this Dia de lo Muertos sculpture? 

M- Cities Kharkiv Mural 

         11.What are the objectives of Kharkiv murals?  

12.What events are shaping Ukraine’s modern society?  

Bowie Portrait 

13.What was the objective of these subway art pieces? 

14. What did the exhibition include, apart from realistic pictures?

Roa’s trapped creatures

15. What are the adjectives uses to describe Roa’s art?

Cosimo Cheone Lurking Giants 

16.What does  Cheone’s work suggest?  

WD  street art activism 

17. What is the objective of this art? 

The living wall by  Nikita Nomerz

18. What does Nikita Nomertz use to create his art? 

JCro’sMurals

19.What famous brand has JCro’s worked for? 

20.What is the range of JCro’s work? 

21.What is the only shape JCro’s uses in his work? 

Leo Keer’s Augmented reality

22.What feature distinguishes Leo Keer’s mural from other artists works?  T

Adam Fu’s Glow style 

23. What type of paint does Adam Fu use? 

24. What is the metaphor behind Adam Fu’s work? What does he use his work for? 

Johan Karlgren’s Suprise art

25. How do Kagreen’s colors interact with the palette of the Swedish cities? 

26. What is your favorite? Justify your reason 

Use the key to correct your answers: HERE 

If  the link/embedded video  is broken, please download the video file HERE

Introduction:
Everywhere you look, there’s a work of art to catch your eye. Whether we’re basking in the glory of Mother Nature, or standing awestruck at the metropolitan monoliths of modernity with some of the craziest installations in human history--the artist’s canvas has certainly shifted through the ages. Historically, street art has suffered a bad rap, particularly in the early days of Hip Hop and Graffiti, but now--both spray paint and latex are pushing the boundaries of the creative medium. From Optical Illusions to Moving Mannequins, here’s 15 Amazing Street Art That Is At Another Level

What can we do for climate change. The role of individual and collective actions.

 Climate change is a recurrent topic in the examination to access university( Selectivitat) 

Level: Upper

Procedure: Listen AND read a lecture on climate change.


The lecture deals with the evil of thinking there is an irreconcilable opposition between individual and collective actions and how this misconception (individual Vs Collective) has been used by corporations to continue making money while polluting the environment. 


The task: 

Use the comment section of the blog  (remember to sign with your name) to:

  • Write 3 of 4 sentences that are key in the text. Explain why you think they are important. Indicate if you agree, you don’t agree or you think they need to be explained further. 

  • Share new words or expressions that you have learned and that you think might be useful for future essays. 


Click HERE to download the video and the script 




Desirée's Baby (1892). A Reflection on Slavery

Level: upper

Reading task: Students read the questions about  Kate Chopin short story: Désire's Baby.

Some questions are related to slavery and others to narrative techniques.

Questions about Kate Chopin's Désirée's Baby  

  1. In the first half of the story, a lazy mood prevails. How is this idea transmitted? 
  2. Note the similes as you read. Can you spot some of them?  
  3. Do you think the narrative voice is critical or sympathetic towards the characters of the story?  
  4. Armand Augbigny is the villain of the story. What are the devices used to present him as the villain? 
  5. Can you find images that hint at the impending doom or expressions of negative feelings that anticipate an unhappy end?
  6. How do you feel about the clever twist? Did it reverse your expectations? 
  7. Do you think race and origin are still causes of inequality in the areas of the world where you live? 
Questions based on American Literature to 1900 by Teresa Gibert. Editorial Ramón Areces, Uned. 2009, pp. 464 -468

To know more about the life and work of Kate Chopin: HERE

Link to Désir´e's Baby Short Story: HERE

KEY/ Answers: HERE 

Pleasure is not happiness. Talk by Robert Lustig


Level: Upper intermediate or higher 
Procedure: students read the questions and watch the video
Video length: 4 min 28 seconds
Vocabulary: 
  • Serotonin is the key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness
  • Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter. Your body makes it, and your nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells. That's why it's sometimes called a chemical messenger. Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure
If you want to download the video  or the KEY to the questions, please click HERE

Questions:
According to Dr. Lustig, pleasure and happiness cannot be equated.
1. What are the 7 differences between pleasure and happiness?
2. Can you summarize the impact of dopamine and serotonin in the human brain?
3. What are the locations Dr. Lustic mentions as places where dopamine is king? Do you know what these places represent?
4. Why did Dr. Lustic write this book?

The video