Talking

 

Do you enjoy talking in English?

What would help you get better at talking in English?

Do you sometimes talk too much?

Who do you like talking to most in the whole world?

Do you like talking to strangers?

Do you ever struggle in conversation?

to find the right words

to think of something to say

to feel motivated to converse

to get the conversation started

to keep the conversation going

Signs You're Not Good At Small Talk

Always searching for anecdotes

prolonging a conversation unnecessarily

struggling to find common interests

lacking storytelling confidence

mis-timing your entrance

You end the conversation at the wrong moment

Rank the following from easiest to hardest:

To start a conversation

To finish a conversation

To change topic in a conversation

To get the other person to contribute to a conversation

To get the other person to stop talking for a moment

To disagree without offending the other person/people

When was the last time you talked into the wee hours with someone?

Where do you talk more?

in the classroom

in the car

in the train

in a cafe

online

Do you like your own voice?

What would you most enjoy talking about?

a famous painting      cats      your house     the weather       politics      your culture      sports

travel     yourself        nightlife        new foods you haven't tried              your feelings        music

Here are some expression with the word "talk" - can you guess what they mean?

sweet talk

small talk

sleep talk

straight talk

sales talk

to talk shop

to talk truth

to talk rubbish

to talk sth over

to talk yourself out

The following pictures represent idioms literally

Lip service

The government only pays lip service to the idea of improving the living standards of the poor.

A slip of the tongue

"Be careful what you say to the police - a slip of the tongue could get us all put in jail."

Try these  out - there's no correct answer

She said


"                  ", she answered.
"                  ", she responded.
"                  ", she replied.
"                  ", she retorted.
"                  ", she called.
"                  ", she explained.
"                  ", she laughed.
"                  ", she screamed.
"                  ", she shouted.
"                  ", she admitted.
"                  ", she lied.
"                  ", she whispered.
"                  ", she sobbed.
"                  ", she hissed.

"                  ", she apologised.

Hey there!

You're wrong about that

No thanks

Go away!

I can't go on!

I love you

I hate you

I'm sorry, it's all my fault

It is very late and I am too tire to discuss this

Only an idiot would say that

I'm depressed

I suppose you're right

stop it at once

I'll be there in a minute

I'm just not ready for this level of commitment

What is she actually saying to him?

She: Hey - are golfing today? It's the second time this week.

He: But you said it was fine?

She: It is fine. It's perfectly fine.

What does she mean?

She: Are you wearing that?

She: Hey do you want to get some coffee?

She: I'll be ready in a minute.

She: Do you think she's pretty?

What does he mean?

He: Hey - mind if I catch a movie with the guys?

He: Wow - you're beautiful.

He: I'm fine. Really. Stop looking at me.

The Manslater

Do you like getting or giving advice?

Which things to do like to get advice about?

health

love life

shopping

restaurants

family matters

travel ideas

friendship

school

career

books to read

films or TV shows to see

money matters

Where do you get advice? - books, friends, family, TV, online...

Do you need advice on anything at the moment?

Has anyone ever given you some really bad advice?

Has anyone ever given you some good advice?

What's the difference?

We stopped to talk.                  We stopped talking.

I once asked a Japanese student what she missed most from Japan. She said "talking without speaking". 

What do you think she meant?

Can you think of a better way to say this?

How was you're weekend?

It was good.

How's your soup?

Good.

Did you enjoy that class.

No

That's a nice shirt.

Thanks.

What do you think about Joanna?

She's nice.

How are you feeling after she spoke to you that way.

Bad.

Tell me about you'r family?

They are nice.

What are your plans this weekend?

I don't know

Recreate this simple story. You can't use nice good, big , or bad, and you can't repeat yourself.

Last weekend I performed with my band at a book launch. Lots of nice people came and the room was big and really nice. It felt good to play to a big crowd of nice people. The listened to the music good. It made me feel good about my music, which was nice. I'm quite bad at feeling good in crowds though. It doesn't feel good, even though I try to be nice. I just always somehow feel bad, you know? Anyway, my girlfriend was really nice and videoed our performance. I expected it to sound bad, but when I watched it it sounded pretty good. That's nice.

Big talk








Are you a fast talker?














Do you mind being interrupted?























Do you tend to talk directly or indirectly about your feelings?

Evaluations of advertisements

Watch the ad:

HORNBACH

This is an ad from well-known german DIY-Store Hornbach. It starts with a typical german man of 40-50 years, possibly a teacher or office-employee, sitting in a cafe. He's feeling that something is wrong. In the background we hear the noise of cracks. Putting his hand around the back of his neck, the man finds plaster-rubble. He nervously walks straight to his home where he finds a crack in his house facade. In the last scene we see the man plastering the crack.

When the man arrives at home and sees the cracks in his facade, they change the view for the viewers, who see the same cracks in his neck. Then there is the first sentence: Nobody feels it like you. With this sentence they want to underline the connection between a house-owner and this home. In the next scene we see the man plastering the crack and they show us the logo and slogan: There is always something to do, along with the jingle for the Hornbach-Company.

Germans take great pride in their houses and want them to look immaculate.  One of the favourite activities for us in our spare time is to renovate, fix or build something in the garden or around the house. The ad plays up this tendency, showing us a slightly neurotic german DIY customer. 

All of Hornbach's ads are ironic, and this one even makes fun of their own customer. But all house-owners know that it's true - that we want our home nice. It's a german mentality. With their slogan "there is always something to do", Hornbach are reminding Germans of this mentality, even while poking fun at it. The company knows that it can rely on the perception that there is indeed always something to do: a new bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, new colour scheme, floor surface, a new hut for the garden equipment, etcetera. This slogan latches onto a deeply engrained mentality and pushes a very strong button: that sense of alarm and guilt we feel when we think we might be neglecting our homes.

I think it's a very successful ad because it finds a humorous way to express a truth, or even a cliche, while awakening the desire for something new, making us curious about new products and trends. 

By Sarah

Watch here:

Idolen

The IKEA "idolen" (idols) is an ad for furniture. It features a father and his son. It seems like the mother isn’t in the picture and that the kid is the only child. The furniture (the product being sold) is integrated with a message about being present for your family. In the ad the father and son do all kinds of stuff: fishing, painting, etcetera. But the father seems to be really busy with either work related calls or private calls, and the kid is just wanting to hang out with his dad. It uses the slogan “Där livet händer”, meaning "where life happens".

The ad begins with the song Sit Down Beside Me, by Patrick Watson. This song communicates the message very simply and directly: just to take a break from the phone and be in the moment. 

The ad is trying to appeal to parents, middle-aged men and women. The choice of music makes a lasting impression, and also grabs our attention. Sending the message loud and clear about the negative impact of technology on our relationships.  It’s a quite serious ad which sticks with you and makes you think about to value your relationships with family and friends, and I think it probably sells the furniture too. I would describe this ad, in one word, as family.

By Julia

Differences between movie posters from Japan and English speaking countries

It sounds strange, but perhaps nobody would even guess some posters in Japan were advertising the same films advertised elsewhere.

Look at this example - the poster for the movie Big Hero 6.

Why are these two ads so different? I guess there are two reasons.

One of them is difference in national mentality. Japanese people prefer human drama over action. In English speaking countries action is more important. We can see this clearly in the two examples. Another difference is the use of an engaging slogan in the Japanese poster, which translated says: “can we save the world with kindness". Again, this places emphasis on human drama over action.

Second factor is to do with how we make sense of things. Japanese people want to get more information and detail from a poster - hence the slogan and extra text, while the poster for English speaking countries simply uses a the movie title. One very simple reason for this might be that movies cost so much to see Japan, compared with other countries, and people want to be careful in choosing what they'll go and see. 

By Ayano

This ad is part of a campaign against loose American gun laws. It comes from a movement called ‘Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America’. It’s shows a shocking and absurd contradiction in what is considered dangerous in American law.  At the bottom of the poster we can read a slogan which says, ‘We won’t sell Kinder chocolate eggs in the interest of child safety. Why not assault weapons?’ In this campaign this slogan is re-used again and again.

Using children in a classroom heightens the resonance and power of this ad, reminding you of past mass shootings in classrooms. I think the faces of both children are really powerful too; both of them look sad and depressed when they should be carefree and innocent. The lighting in the picture is very gloomy, which heightens the serious mood and helps focus attention on the discomforting question in the text. 

As a European, this ad is powerful to me, because chocolate eggs are so commonplace, so I can’t understand why it’s illegal when weapons are allowed. Similarly, to see a child with an assault weapon makes me stand up and notice. This in turn gets me wondering about the laws which allow people to own weapons in the same way they might own a something they bought at the supermarket, such as a chocolate egg. 

It's a great ad, particularly because it doesn’t need to show any blood or anything graphic, just the comparison of two things, and you get the point. If I had to sum up this ad in one phrase I would say ‘WTF?’.

By Timothé

Watch here:

Penguin Ad

This is a John Lewis Christmas advert from 2014, made to inspire people to buy a Christmas gift.

In the video you see a little boy hanging out with his best friend, a real penguin. As they enjoy the Christmas season together, doing all the classic winter activities, the viewer realises that the penguin is longing for love. The boy realises too, and surprises his friend with a female penguin for Christmas. At the end there's a twist where the parents are seen watching the boy playing with two stuffed animals.

The music is Real Love, originally by John Lennon, but performed here by Tom Odell. The whole ad finishes with the slogan "Give someone the Christmas they've been dreaming of".

As John Lewis is a department store, the target group is a family. The emotional connection is created by the bond between the little boy and his real penguin and at the same time it`s the element that makes the lasting impression. Especially because it is a Christmas advert, John Lewis brings up all the feelings that are related with this season: the coziness, family time and the longing for love. 

The advert represents our desires and longings as they arise during the winter time and it shows our society in a positive way.

By Lorena

Watch here:

Epic Split

The epic split commercial was made to demonstrate the stability and the precision of the Volvo dynamic steering. In the ad you see celebrity Jean Claude van Damme doing a split between two reversing Volvo trucks. It’s a very impressive commercial because it’s something you don’t see every day. It has quite soothing, eerie music in the background, which reinforces the idea of calm, stability and security, and uses also a minimal text to explain the purpose of the ad.

The ad is trying to convince the viewer that their cars are the most secure and stable. It creates an sense of astonishment when you watch the ad. It gives the viewer a feeling of security when we see that the person doesn’t fall with such a dangerous act. The ad really grabs your attention and leaves a lasting effect on the viewer.

The ad gives overall a very positive feeling. You feel secure and also like you can do whatever you want to in life. It doesn’t give a negative reflection of society but rather a positive one.

I think it was an extremely well thought ad and very original. 

By Marie

Watch here:

White washing

1.

This advertisement is about laundry detergent and shows a young attractive Asian girl washing her clothes. A black guy comes and tries to catch her attention. When he comes closer, she pushes him into the washing machine and after a few seconds, a really handsome, fair-skinned Asian guy appears. 

The ad is trying to appeal to a group of young females. Creating an emotional connection with the product, showing a cute girl and a handsome guy. It shows how good the product is by making something unexpected occur in a real life situation. Unfortunately in a way that is racist and discriminatory towards the black people.

When I saw the advertisement I immediately I caught the main racist subtext. This shows a negative, backward side of Chinese society, with the message that if you have a dark skin you are dirty, not pure, and you must change it. In the Chinese culture fair skin is a symbol of beauty, and this advertisement promotes that: you will be accepted by the others if you have a white skin.       

If I had to sum up this video in one word, I'd say that is word is "unacceptable". I can’t believe that in 2018 there are societies that can’t accept the differences and live tolerating and respecting that. I can’t imagine this kind of ad in western countries. If happened, it would cause a really huge problem.

By Alvaro


2.

This ad shows how cleanly you can wash your clothes with this laundry liquid. Three people appear in it: two of them are Chinese, but the other is a black guy. It last 48 seconds and two sound tracks are used. At first, the music sounds like a comedy, but at the end there is a song we could hear at a bar or party. There is a slogan in it in Chinese so I can’t understand it in detail. Because I’m Japanese I can tell that it says,approximately, “the breakthrough - washing well”.

I think this ad could be trying to appeal to housewives because if they have children, their kids often play with mud. It grabbed my attention, but I felt somewhat annoyed and confused by it. It left a strange impression and that could last for a long time. As I mentioned, two songs are used and each of them suits each scene and they make this video funnier.

The video is so interesting for me because Chinese people are more “white” skinned than the black. But actually Asian people including Chinese people are classified as “yellow” by others and some people who live in Russia, Europe, South America are regarded as the white. 

The Chinese people who were involved in making this advert could be making fun of the black but at the same time, I think they might be trying to make a point about the relative nature of colour in different cultures. In other words they are pointing out how western people often attribute their own misconceptions about skin colour to Chinese people and Chinese concepts of beauty. What’s more, China is composed of not only “Chinese” but also many non-Han Chinese ethnicities. Chinese people aren't homogenous and aren't united in their thoughts and values.

The creators seem may have tried to make a humorous and funny ad, but it caused a lot of misunderstanding

In conclusion, this is not good ad. It ultimately does have a racist subtext, and racism should be removed in modern world. I understand their efforts, but it ended up giving offence.

By Hide

Think about the things I have underlined. Then see how I've changed the language below.

This is a Nestle ad launched in 2017 to celebrate mexican Mother's Day. The first shot shows a mother with her child sitting in a kitchen table, it seems they are doing some homework. Then it is shown a close up to the computer they are using and it is revealed that they are learning the mexican sign language alphabet. You assume the kid is deaf.

Later on, the mother lays the child down for him to sleep and they say to each other ‘I love you’ in signs. Until that moment, not a single word has been said. The next day the mother is preparing a suitcase for her son, meanwhile he is in front of a mirror repeating the signs he had already learned. They arrive to a swimming pool full of children and their mothers, they sit down on a bench and she helps him to get ready for his lesson. The next thing we see is the mother doing a thumbs up, he breathes deeply and walks towards another child. He taps the shoulder of this new boy and when he turns around, you can realise he is actually the deaf child.

They start a conversation, they introduce each other in sign language.

After we see the hearing boy (named Tono) shouting to his mom that his new friend Lalo understood. On the other hand , Lalo, the deaf child, asks his mom if she had seen that. She answers to him saying he made a new friend. 

The last scene we see is Lalo’s mother thanking Tono’s mother for that incredible gesture.

The ad finishes with the two boys playing in the pool and it is shown the phrase “You know you are doing it right, when your child makes a better world.”

Mexico is not an educated country in a lot of matters, particularly on inclusion subjects. This ad reflects how easily would be the life for people with disabilities if we were taught since little to respect and embrace the differences.  Mexican sign language is really unknown, there are only 60 certified mexican traductors of sign language. It is really hard for the deaf community to communicate with others because they are taught differently from hearing people and not everyone knows now that each sign language is considered an idiom. 

So, the ad is saying education matters, what you are taught from a young age is what you are going to become as a grown up. It recognises the hard labour of mothers setting and example and educating their children.

I think it is an amazing ad, it is really well segmented because the mothers are the ones that usually do the shopping and choose the products for their children. Shows the importance of education and inclusion in societies, and recognises the value and the importance of the mother figure in a child's life.     

Read the corrections carefully. Try to think about the rules that these corrections reveal.

In particular, compare these two sentences very carefully:

This ad reflects how easily would be the life for people with disabilities if we were taught since little to respect and embrace the differences.  

This ad reflects how much easier life for people with disabilities would be if we were taught from early on to respect and embrace differences. 

This is a Nestle ad launched in 2017 to celebrate Mexican Mother's Day. The first shot shows a mother with her child sitting at a kitchen table. It seems they are doing some homework, but then there is a close up of the computer they are using, and it is revealed that they are learning the Mexican sign language alphabet. You begin to realise the kid is deaf.

Later on, the mother is settling the child down to sleep and they say to each other ‘I love you’ in signs. Up until that moment, not a single word has been spoken. The next day the mother is preparing a suitcase for her son. Meanwhile he is in front of a mirror repeating the signs he had already learned. They arrive at a swimming pool full of children and their mothers, they sit down on a bench and she helps him to get ready for his swimming lesson. The next thing we see is the mother doing a thumbs up. He breathes deeply and walks towards another child. He pats the shoulder of this new boy who turns around, and you realise the other boy is deaf too.

They start a conversation, and introduce themselves in sign language.

After that we see the deaf boy (named Tono) shouting to his mom that his new friend Lalo has understood. Meanwhile, Lalo, the other deaf child, asks his mom if she had seen that. She answers him by saying he made a new friend. 

The last scene we see is Lalo’s mother thanking Tono’s mother for that incredible gesture.

The ad finishes with the two boys playing in the pool and the phrase “You know you are doing it right, when your child makes a better world” is shown.

Mexico is not an educated country in a lot of respects, particularly on subjects around inclusion. This ad reflects how much easier life for people with disabilities would be if we were taught from early on to respect and embrace differences.  Mexican sign language is relatively unknown; there are only 60 certified mexican instructors of sign language. It is really hard for the deaf community to communicate with others because they are taught differently from hearing people and not everyone knows now that each sign language (French, Spanish, English etc) is considered linguistically distinct. 

The ad is emphasising how education matters, and how what you are taught from a young age is what you are going to become as a grown up. It recognises the hard work of mothers (parents?) in setting and example and educating their children.

I think it is an amazing ad. It is really well targeted because the mothers are the ones that usually do the shopping and choose the products for their children. Above all,  it shows the importance of education and inclusion in society, and recognises the value and the importance of the mother figure in a child's life.