A few bits and pieces

One book all of you should try and get hold is Kate Fox's Watching the English.

It's the best book I've ever read about how England works, the peculiar social etiquette connected to such everyday things as queuing, pubs, small talk and so on. her disscetion of the core qualities of Englishness are very accurate and very very funny. A really readable, witty, perceptive book.


If you're interested in Cockney Rhyming Slang, you might find these sites below interesting.

Cockney Rhyming Slang

And here's the Wikipedia entry on the subject.



Finally, some classic British comedy clips.





Here's a whole episode of FAWLTY TOWERS in three parts,







Here are a few killer clips from more recent sitcom, THE OFFICE.





Here's the very dry, very deadpan ROYLE FAMILY.



Here are some sketches from THE FAST SHOW, which was huge in the mid-to-late 90s













Hope you enjoy these - and manage the odd chuckle!

The F-word

Here are a few interesting bits and bobs on the F-word.

First, the Wikipedia entry on the word.

Here's a tongue-in-cheek YouTube clip about the word, done as a mock 1950s public information movie. It covers the many word classes the word can form!



Here's a link to the key moments in public swearing in the 20th century.

Here's an article about a legal case in the USA on the F-word.

And should you be particularly interested, there's a whole book on the subject which you can buy here!


I'd be interested to hear about swearing in public in your country.
Does much swearing get aired on TV or in the media?
Have there been any landmark stories about taboo-busting uses of language in the public arena?
Have there been any high-profile legal cases connected to swearing?

Scary government film from the 1940s

A friend of mine sent me a link to a hilarious and slightly deranged Pathe video from the 1940s about how to help immigrants speak better English.

This must have been an official government movie shown at cinemas before the main features. It's astounding not only for the funny advice given to the poor Sri Lankan bloke, but also becuase of the fact that he clearly speaks excellent English already.

Anyway, as a sign of how far things have changed since then, this is an interesting little period piece.

Multiculturalism, race and immigration

I'm going to start today by linking in a whole bunch of YouTube clips connected to the themes of today's lesson.

First, here are links to all 23 (!!) parts of a really great documentary about Afro-Caribbean immigration into the UK called THJE WINDRUSH YEARS (1948-1998). This was made in 1998 to celebrate fifty years of Black Britain.















































That should keep you busy for a while!!!

Next up, some clips about the 1958 Notting Hill race riots, mixing TV footage from the era and contemporary perspectives:







Next up, a four-part documentary about the people who started the Notting Hill Carnival.









Next up, here's the full version of Enoch Powell's 1968 Rivers of Blood speech.



Let's move on to the stroy of the Brixton riots.
This is a six-part documentary.













Here's some background to The Satanic Verses controversy.
This is another documentary.




You can read a Wikipedia article about the death of Stephen Lawrence here.

There's a lot of articles connected to similar themes, all from the Guardian here.

I was going to post some stuff on 7/7 and the EDL, but got depressed looking for it. Look on YouTube for 7/7 information and all you find is conspiracy theory rantings and mad people saying it must have been an inside job; look for the English Defence League and you just find all their scary promotional stuff and life's too short to waste time on that kind of nonsense.

Finally, then, here's the shocking and very depressing footage of Professor David Starkey on Newsnight the other day - in full.

About David Crystal

I must say that I met David Crystal at a teachers' meeting last spring in Madrid and he's great concerning to the English Language. A great authority like him should be invited to take part in our blog about Contemporary British Language and Culture. We should invite him to come to the Univ.
What do you think about that?
Bye
Jesus

ego4u.com

Hi
Here is a link to one of the web pages I most often use to teach English in my classes. It is used with great interest on their side, and it is highly motivating, so as to keep going, even for those students who feel left behind.

Cheers and LOL!
Pedro Jesus

BBC Learning English website

Hiya
Let's see if I can blog...
I'd like to share with you this website that is a very good resource for learning english through news and current affairs. This section is called "How to keep your English up to date" check it out!
Eunice

http://http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/uptodate/

Education

Last Friday, we talked a lot about education and the changes in our systems over recent years.

Thought you might be interested to read a bit more about the University of Westminster, given that you're studying here.

Did you know, for example, that Jimi Hendrix once played here?
Or that we were home to the first photographic studio in Europe?
Or that the hall you had your introductory talk in was once the venue for the first public moving picture show in the UK?

You can read all about that here:


A timeline of key events in our history

And here's a more general overview of our history and current situation:

Wikipedia entry

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What I'd like you to do for homework is to write a bit about the place where you work back home - and to give an overview of any major changes that have occurred there over recent years.

Thanks,
Hugh

ESL/EFL MATERIAL

Hi everyone,

For those of you who are interested in using listening material for their ESL/EFL classes, here's a short list of websites or podcasts I regularly visit or download :

- voanews.com : (voice of America) They have an interesting 'Special English' section to help non-native English speakers understand broadcasts of the Voice of America and from which you can download audios and PDFs. For A1 and A2 speakers of English (on the CEFR);

- breakingnewsenglish.com : ready-to-use ESL/EFL lesson plans. Great for pre-int or intermediate levels (B1);

- Editor's highlights : six selected articles a week from the audio edition of the Economist you can podcast(Itunes, Facebook,...).Intelligent, well-written, in-depth coverage, and last but not least, makes you look intelligent on the train ! For me the best of its class ! Definitely for advanced or very advanced learners of English, C1 or C2 ;

- Busyteacher.org : Free printable worksheets for emergency situations or when you run out of time (believe me it happens more than often).

Hope this will be of interest.

Best,

Philippe

English and the Internet

Here's a link to a great website which is attempting to provide a comprehensive overview of the new words coming into the language via the web. Have a good look at it. There's some interesting stuff there.


NETLINGO

Next, if you're interested in TEXT SPEAK and the debates around whether or not it's destroying the English language, a great place to start is with Professor David Crystal's excellent book, Txtng: The Gr8 Db8.

Here are a couple of articles connected to this.

David Crystal on why texting is good for the language

And if you go here, you can see the articles David Crystal has written about the Internet and about texting.

Just click on the links there to download pdfs of whatever interests you.

Finally, here's a YouTube clip of him talking about this topic.



and here's a longer lecture where he dispels some myths around texting and Tweeting.

From Spain

Hello to you all
Now, I would like to take part in our teacher's blog
I was  listening to the stereotype videos that I like  so much
I  think all will be so interesting that I need a time to get the most of them. I 'm sure I will use them  next year in my classes.
Thak you all
See you
Jesus

Political correctness . . . and new words in English

Firstly, here are some interesting links connected to the whole PC debate.

Wikipedia overview of Political Correctness

A great GUARDIAN article - and subsequent blog posts - about PC and its opponents

A similar BBC discussion

And here's one of my favourite comedians, Stewart lee, doing a particularly brilliant deconstruction of the anti-PC arguments. Enjoy.



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Next, your homework for today.

Your task is to come up five words from your own language that you think would make good additions to the English language - the words might sound good, or may perfectly represent something that is new to British culture (a new type of food, a political event, a new technology, etc.) - or they may represent something you'd like to be introduced to Britain in the future.

Make a list of your loanwords and then write explanations of them.

Explain which words you think have the best chance of sticking - and explain why.

If it helps you focus, you might want to look at the extracts below from this book:

The meaning of TINGO and other extraordinary words from around the world

Malay, for instance, has gigi rongak - the space between the teeth.
The Japanese have bakku-shan - a girl who appears pretty from behind but not from the front.
Then there's a nakkele - a man who licks whatever the food has been served on, which comes from an Indian language, Tulu.

Then there are some great German compound words which have no real equivalents in English. For instance, Kummerspeck, which literally means grief bacon: it is the word that describes the excess weight gained from emotion-related overeating.

A Putzfimmel is a mania for cleaning and Drachenfutter - literally translated as dragon fodder - are the peace offerings made by guilty husbands to their wives.

Or there's die beleidigte Leberwurst spielen - to stick one's lower lip out in a sulk (literally, to play the insulted liver sausage). Perhaps it's a Backpfeifengesicht - a face that cries out for a fist in it.

Hope these examples give you some ideas.
Looking forward to your posts!

Class and social types

Firstly, here's a link to a great BBC archive site where you can watch 17 different classic comedy sketches, all of which have class - and class consciousness - at their heart.

Classic British comedy sketches based on class

There's some very very funny stuff there.
Hope you enjoy it - and start to understand it more now.

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Next, have a look at this reading lesson from a book Andrew and I wrote - Innovations Advanced.

It's about social types, but also tackles the whole notion of stereotypes that we discussed before - and encourages a critical reading, if you like.

There's space at the end for cross-cultural comparisons too, which ties in to a homework I'd like you all to try.


Reading

1. Before you read
In Britain, it's common to categorise people in lots of different ways. People may be pigeonholed depending on the newspaper they read, the city they grew up in, what social class they are, what kind of lifestyle they lead, how they dress, their age and so on.

Discuss these questions with a partner.

a. Do you stereotype people in similar ways in your country?
b. Do you have special names for any particular type of person?
c. Do you think any of the stereotypes are fair / unfair? Why?

2. While you read
Read this humorous text about British social types. As you read, see if any of the social types are similar to the ones you have in your country.

Typical!
Buzzwords come and buzzwords go. In 1980s Britain, we had yuppies - young urban professionals - living in their converted warehouses, driving BMWs, drinking in expensive wine bars and making loads of money. Following hot on their heels were the Buppies - black urban professionals! Then came the lad and his female equivalent, the ladette - binge-drinking, chain-smoking and swearing their way through the 90s. A few years later, David Beckham introduced the metrosexual - fashion-conscious straight men in touch with their feminine sides and very keen on shopping and hair and beauty products!

Here, we explore some of Britain's other social types, some of which have stood the test of time and moved from buzzword to institution, some of which may well be here today - and gone tomorrow!

Typical Guardian readers
The Guardian - a popular broadsheet newspaper - is the bible of left-wing voters. Stereotypically, Guardian readers are middle-aged, middle-class and university-educated. They like to think of themselves as open-minded, but others think they're simply smug and self-satisfied! They tend to be pro-public spending on health care and education, pro-political correctness and pro-immigration - although some cynics say that's only because they don't live close to any of the poorer immigrants! By and large, they're anti-war, anti-hunting and anti-Daily Mail!

Typical Daily Mail readers
The Daily Mail is a paper that likes to think of itself as serious, but that actually seems to be full of 'My husband left me for another woman' articles, puzzles, quizzes and lifestyle questionnaires. If you asked a typical Guardian reader, they'd probably tell you that The Mail is aimed at frightened, paranoid white right-wingers who like to imagine they are now an oppressed minority. Daily Mail readers always seem to be whingeing about one thing or another. Stereotypically, they often preface their opinions with "I'm not racist, but . . . " and constantly remind us that "Things aren't what they used to be".

Scousers
Scousers are people from Liverpool, a port on the north-west coast of England with a large Catholic community and strong links to Ireland. It was also the home of The Beatles. Liverpool is traditionally a working class city that has gone through a lot of ups and downs and its people have developed a reputation for being survivors - even if that may sometimes have meant bending a few rules. Scousers are also believed to be natural comedians who are very proud of their city and their football clubs and very community-minded.

Sloanes
Sloanes (also known as Sloane Rangers) are named after Sloane Square, an incredibly posh area in west London. Princess Diana was regularly described in the newspapers as a Sloane before she became a Princess. Sloanes come from very privileged backgrounds and spend half their lives going to fancy parties and the other half in their big country houses hunting, shooting and fishing. Sloanes have extravagant tastes in almost everything and seem utterly uninterested in anything outside of their narrow little world - hence their reputation for not exactly being Einsteins!

Dinkie couples
DINKIE stands for Double Income No Kids and Dinkie couples are a growing social trend. Not only are couples getting married later and later nowadays - if they bother to tie the knot at all - but many are also choosing not to have kids, but rather to pursue their careers and enjoy the wealth it brings instead. They holiday in the sun twice a year, own two decent cars and possibly even have a second home in the countryside - much to the horror of the Daily Mail readers, who think they are selfish, self-centred and contributing to the downfall of society!

3 Comprehension
Which of the social types mentioned above might say these things?

1. Rather than spending all that money on weapons they should improve hospitals.
2. My taxes have gone up, but the country's going downhill.
3. I can't remember how I got home last night, but it was a great night!
4. Just because I look after myself and I'm into clothes, it doesn't mean I'm gay!
5. Children are just so time-consuming, not to mention expensive!
6. If you stick together and can laugh about things that go wrong, you can get through anything.
7. You mean some people actually clean their own houses? Doesn't everyone have a maid, then? How ghastly!


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Now, here's how this connects to YOU.

For homework today, write your own responses to these questions.

1. Do any of these social types exist in your country?
2. What other kinds of social types do you have? How would you describe them to a foreigner?
3. Do you fall into any social group? Do people ever stereotype you? Do you mind?


Really looking forward to your responses.

Stereotypes

In class today, you talked a bit about stereotypes.

For your homework today, we'd like you to post about sterotypes.

Do you have different stereotypes of the different nationalities within Britain (Scots, Irish, Welsh, English) or do you just have one stereotype for everyone?

Do you have both positive and negative stereotypes of Britain?
Now that you are here in the UK, how much truth do you think there are in the stereotypes you have?


What other countries do you have strong stereotypes of?
Are they positive or negative - or both?

Finally, what stereotypes do you think other nationalities might have of you?
What associations might they have with your country of origin?
And how far do you think these beleifs contain a grain of truth?

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Next, from a teaching point of view, what language do you think students might need if they are to express ideas about stereotypes and assumptions. For example, one useful structure might be:

The English / Russians / Americans ARE OFTEN SEEN AS BEING (A BIT) . . .

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Also from a teaching point of view, do you think you could use any of the videos linked in below in your classrooms?

If so, what would you do with them?
What language / discussions might emerge from them?

If not, why not?

Some of the many accents of Britain

On Monday, we'll be talking - among many other things - about different accents, and the way in which simply being a native speaker doesn't mean you can necessarily speak English as an International Language particularly well or that you'd be a good model / source of input for students.

Below are some YouTube clips featuring a range of different accents from across the United Kingdom.

Enjoy watching these and then add your own thoughts to the discussion that follows.


First up, a short documentary about the Scouse accent from the Liverpool area.





Next up, an interview with a young TV and music celebrity, Cheryl Cole, who's from Newcastle and speaks with a broad Geordie accent.




Next, two clips about Scottish English - and the Glaswegian dialect in particular.





And here's a video comparing standard RP and broad Belfast / Northern Irish.




Here's one of my favourite songs, sung in broad Cockney, by four guys from the East End.




Finally, here's a breakthrough hit from the 1980s by a guy called Smiley Culture, who sadly died this year. He was born in south London, but had Caribbean roots and this song compares the way Jamaicans talk English with the way Cockneys do!





I'm sure you'll be able to find the lyrics via Google if you're interested.

Once you've watched all these clips, post your thoughts on the following questions.
- Which accents do you like the sound of most? Why?
- Which do you find hardest to understand?
- How worried are you about your accent?
- If you could choose any accent for yourself, what would it be? Why?
- How different are accents in your country? Which are seen as standard and feature most in the media?
- How important do you think it is for students to try and get a 'native speaker accent', whatever that means?
- How important do you think it is for students to be exposed to a range of different accents? Why?