Thursday, September 9, 2021

(Pronunciation) Vowels - close sounds

Which word do you hear - 1, 2, or 3?


1.          2.           3.

pin        pen        pan

had        head      hard  

send       sand     sinned

golf        gulf      -

took        talk      tuck

pot         port       part

part        pat         pet

sport      spot        -

cut         cat        cot

fat         fit         fart



Which word do you hear - 1, 2, or 3?


1.         2.         3.

hut        hat        hit

books    box        -

heard    had     hard

man      men      mean

wrist     rest     rust

bird     board   bud

pull     pool     pearl

look     Luke   luck    

heart    hat     hit

live     leave   love

sheep   ship   shop

shot    short     -    



Which word do you hear?

1. I saw the men/man leave.

2. My heart/hat fluttered.

3. Can you pick up the books/box on the floor?

4. The bird/board flew away.

5. We took/talk too much.

6. I will send/sand that later.

7. I dropped a pan/pin/pen on the floor.

8. The cut/cat/cot appeared mysteriously.

9. That piece couldn't be hard/heard.

10. My hear skipped a beat/bit.

Saturday, August 14, 2021

(Song) We can work it out

 



Try to see it my way

Do I have to keep on talking 'til I can't go 1_____?
Why do you see it your way?
Run the 2______ of knowing that our love may 3______ be gone
We can work it out
We can work it out
Think of what you're saying
You can get it 4______ and 5_____ you think that it's alright
Think of what I'm saying
We can work it out and get it 6________, or say good night
We can work it out
We can work it out
Life is very 7______, and there's no time
For 8________ and 9_______, my friend
I have always 10_______ that it's a 11________
So, I will ask you once 12_____

Try to see it my way
13______ time will 14____ if I am right or I am wrong
Why do you see it your way?
There's a 15______ that we might 16____ apart before too long
We can work it out
We can work it out





Separate these into chunk phrases

see it my way I can't go on work it out run the risk of get it right get it straight life is very short there's no time fussing and fighting I've always thought it's a crime  only time will tell there's a chance that fall apart before too long
























see it my way
I can't go on
work it out
run the risk of
get it right
get it straight
life is very short
there's no time
fussing and fighting
I've always thought
it's a crime 
only time will tell
there's a chance that
fall apart
before too long








Related image


It's NOT about the nail


Some words:

relentless
pointing out
achy
snagged


What is going on in these?

right up on me
I don't know if it's ever gonna stop
Well, you do have a nail in your head
It is not about he nail
I don't think that is what you need
I don't know what it is
I'm not sleep very well at all
Oh come on

Watch again and listen to how the actors use stress and intonation


After watching:










Do you feel this ad was stereotyping women and men?



















Discuss the comments:









"This hysterical clip shows us very clearly how important it is to LISTEN when women talk and not try to solve their problems!!!! LOL!"













"The way men and women communicate with each other is very different. Men want to fix things. Women need to be heard. Men need to watch this."















"Don't try to fix it. I just need you to listen." Every man has heard these words. And they are the law of the land. No matter what."














Judging by the 2k thumbs down, there are at least 2k women with a nail in their forehead!










"Rationalism vs Emotion"











"I dare say this video really "Hit the nail on the head" bad dum tish"





Sunday, July 18, 2021

(Vocabulary) Facial expressions

 Related image




EYES


Verbs

widen
roll 
narrow
light up
dart
squint
blink
twinkle














Eyes are so expressive. Why might someone's eyes do these things?













flash















look heavenward












roll











narrow

















Image result for angela merkel rolling eyes














Image result for tears




flooded
fighting
cheeks
wet

his eyes _______ with tears
her eyes were _______
he was _______back tears
tears ran down her ________



EYEBROWS




Image result for mr bean eyebrows


his brows knitted
her forehead creased
his forehead furrowed
a line appeared between her brows
his eyebrows rose
she raised an eyebrow
he lifted an eyebrow




WAYS OF LOOKING


Checking sb out

she gave him a once-over
he sized her up
she took in the sight of him



Ways of looking

he glared
she peered
he gazed
she glanced
he stared
he observed
she surveyed


Pupils

his pupils (were) dilated
her pupils were huge
his pupils flared






NOSES

Image result for medici portrait



his nose wrinkled
his nostrils flared
she stuck her nose in the air
he sniffed




SMILES


Image result for the joker nicholson

Say cheese

she smiled
he smirked
she grinned
her mouth curved into a smile
the corners of his mouth turned up
he gave a half-smile
she gave a lopsided grin
she forced a smile
her smile faded



JAWS AND MOUTH


Image result for pouting


he pouted
his mouth snapped shut
she bit her lip
his jaw tightened
his jaw dropped






Do you do anything funny with your mouth that people tease you about?


Think about

when you get angry
when you're concentrating
when you're distracted






ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS USING THE MOUTH


motor mouth


big mouth


keep your mouth shut



tight lipped



zip it



pay lip service



put a sock in it





BLUSHING



Image result for red face


Do you easily blush?

his face reddened
her cheeks turned pink
his face flushed
she blushed
he turned red
she turned scarlet
he turned crimson
a flush crept up her face



Image result for winced


WHOLE FACE

Do you have a good poker face, or can people read you like a book?

Which feature of your face are you most proud of?

he screwed up his face
she winced


she gave him a dirty look
he frowned



her whole face lit up



her expression hardened
she went poker-faced


a vein popped out in his neck


fear crossed her face
terror overtook his face
recognition dawned on her face








Reflection



Try to recall some vocabulary we've used in this lesson


Eyes

Mouth

Nose

Face

Idioms



what do you sometimes fight back?
what can pop out of your neck?
what can you force?
what can sparkle or twinkle?
what can you put a sock in?
what can you roll?
what can drop?
what can you zip?
what can dilate?
what can flare?
what can turn crimson?
what can you pay?


(Song) Come Undone

 




Come Undone


First lines

So unimpressed but so in awe
Such a saint but such a whore
So self-aware so full of shit
So indecisive so adamant

The words in bold are all ________  (what kind of words?)
How do repetition and contrast feature in these lines?

Next lines
I'm contemplating thinking about thinking
It's over-rated just get another drink in
Watch me come undone

What does "over-rated" mean?
What is "over-rated" in the song?
"I'm contemplating thinking about thinking" - what does this line mean?
What's the difference?: have another drink / get another drink in

Fill the gaps:
They're selling _____ blades and ______ in the street
I pray that when I'm coming down you'll be _____
If I ever hurt you your ______ will be so sweet
______ I'm scum
And I'm your ____
I come undone
I come undone
"They're selling razor blades and mirrors in the street"
How do you interpret this line?

Predict where these words will go:
lying 
rock and roll
fuck you all
animal
dying
ugly

So _________ so corporate suit
So damn______, so damn cute
So well trained, so _______
So need your love, so ________
I'm not scared of________ I just don't want to
If I stop_______ I'd just disappoint you
I come undone

They're selling razor blades and mirrors in the street
I pray that when I'm coming down you'll be asleep
If I ever hurt you your revenge will be so sweet
Because I'm scum
And I'm your son
I've come undone


Focus on the verbs | listen and fill the gaps
So w_____ another ballad
M____ it on a Wednesday
S____ it on a Thursday
B____ a yacht by Saturday
It's a love song
A love song
D___ another interview
S_____ a bunch of lies
T____ about celebrities that I d_______


And sing love songs
We sing love songs
So sincere
So sincere
How do you interpret these lines?

Final lines:
My sad song, my love song
My sad song, my love song

What is he saying here? Why does he sing this at the end of the song?

Saturday, July 3, 2021

(Pronunciation) Intrusion

Good boys put peanut butter on their bread.
Good girls pick a bit of marmalade instead.

or: marmalade instead

What do blue, red and orange letters signify?

That pink purse is the purse for perfect people.
If I were a perfect person, I would have that pink purse.




Answer

blue = consonant shift
red = intrusion
yellow = elision




Practice:


I much prefer America to China or India. I mean those places are really int_resting, but I like having the ability to read signs and things in the streets. Even if they are in English they are sometimes difficult to understand. In India, for example, I saw a sign where all of the words seemed to be in English, but I couldn’t work out the whole. I just had no idea what it meant. New York is an amazing city, but you have to be alert all the time. Traffic comes from everywhere in the city and the cars drive really fast.


NB: _ = syllable elision

int_resting

(NZ Culture) The Newest Zealander


Image result for the newest new zealander

The Newest Zealander

(Advanced) Say My Name


Try to pronounce these names of famous NZ ruby players:

Waisake Naholo - Wing

The All Blacks wing Waisake Naholo.

























Malakai Fekitoa - Midfielder

All Blacks Malakai Fekitoa and TJ Perenara celebrate 2014 Bledisloe Cup success.


Ma'a Nonu - Midfielder

All Black second-five Ma'a Nonu.


























Jerome Kaino - Loose Forward

All Black flanker Jerome Kaino.



























Image result for say my name campaign nz
Piri Weepu is one of rugby's most familiar faces, a World Cup-winning All Black and now a TV host. But when it comes to saying his name, some Kiwis do struggle.
He's now front and centre of the new campaign called 'Say My Name', in which players are asking fans to try a little harder.

Watch:

Say My Name


12 phrases