Media Scan

BBC Culture  publishes the list of the 20 Best Movies of 2021 , which includes Almodovar's first film in English, "The Human Voice".  In this dense article, which is full of simple and composed adjectives and adverbs you will find interesting words and expressions for C1 students like: "[a] suspenseful, action-filled [film], wiliness, the film's themes [...] resonate profoundly with social justice movements today,  to feature, damsels in distress, [a] dreamlike film, a callow knight, to behead, to stroll, to gasp, bewildering, a smart-mouthed comic sidekick, swirl, stunningly shot, to blur the boundaries between fact and fiction, to reel back, to capture [the novel's] nuance, an entrancing work of art, over-the-top entertainment, giddy,  to mess up, a spellbinding drama, endless grievances and yearnings, grief, barrage, bone-crunching violence, grip, to boast, strait-laced, brooding, creepy, sprightly, chilling, a grief-racked, a pared-down drama, a s...

  Love is the driving force that moves our hearts and inspires our mind. There are thousands of songs and poems that talk about the miriad of emotions love can arouse. Here you can find a short text about heartbreak and hope, written by Teresa M., who won one of the awards in the 2021 Valentine Competition at the E.O.I. nº 1, Zaragoza, and below you can find two very different love songs: the video " Break My Heart " by Dua Lipa released in 2020 and a 1960 hit by Etta James, " A Sunday Kind of Love ". The vocabulary is quite easy and the songs can be heard with subtitles, so this post is suitable for B1 students and above.  The less frequent words you will come across are: skylight, a letdown, to grip [my heart], relief, serenity, to get it wrong, to know for sure, letting you go, love at first sight, on the square, scheming, to enfold [someone] in my arms. I hope you can feel Cupid's arrows deep in your heart. Enjoy Valentine's Day! IS A MATTER OF TIME by T...

The C1.1 students became gossip reporters last week, when they had to find a story about celebrities, their relationships and personal lives.  Five stories were voted in the four mini-groups as the best:  María B. presented "Did Kanye West Cheat On Kim with Jeffree Star?" after reading the story in Dazed Digital .  Vera R. talked about Dora Maar, Picasso's lover, muse and "a major surrealist photographer" in her own right, and then she wrote her story "When Love Creates Art and Tragedy" , based on two stories from  The New York Times and The Guardian . Adriana R. wrote a piece on Heather Mills and Mike Dickman , after compiling information from three stories in The Sun  "Who is Heather Mills' Fiancé Mike Dickman?" , the same story on January 14th , and  "The Most Staggeringly Expensive Celeb Divorces Ever"  and after reading a fourth text from Heather Mills' Profile  in Hello Magazine. Rafaela S. wrote a short text called ...

Dating is an art, a communication game where you want to show your feelings, but you do not want "to seem too eager".  In this post you can find two articles from The List, a "women's news and lifestyle site with a twist": Texts to Send After a First Date and Things You Should Never Do on a First Date . These two texts are recommended for C1 students, as the vocabulary is very rich in colloquial American slang.  Some of the less frequent words you will find in the dating and texting article are:  nerve-wracking, to feel a spark, super cheesy, flirty, cute, to ghost your date, to hang out with friends, to hit it off, to get the hint , whereas in the second story you will read  frazzled, tardiness, phubbing  (which is a new coinage),  a self-fulfilling prophecy, to feel upbeat/ over-the-top, to moan about, to whine, to brag, a faux-pas, daunting  etc. A full list of the most interesting words in these two articles can be found in the "Glossary of the Bl...

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the USA which is observed on the third Monday of January (the 18th of the current month in 2021), as Dr. King's birthday was on January 15th. His speech, " I Have a Dream " has inspired several generations of civil rights activists to fight peacefully but unyieldlingly for justice and against any kind of discrimination. American Rhetoric.com ranks " I Have a Dream " as number one in the list of the most influential speeches in the USA, it is powerful, moving, rich in literary and biblical references and very rhythmical -a well-crafted mixture of political speech and Baptist sermon.  You can also watch the whole speech on the YouTube video below.  The speech needs a certain historical introduction, as it contains numerous references to the struggle against segregation laws in the 1950's and 60's, which students will problably miss otherwise. This lesson plan for a two-hour C1 class includes some reading...

This year has been particularly tough, but if you look back you will surely remember wonderful moments, lessons you had never learnt before, and, perhaps, a song, a book or a film that will stay with you long after 2020 has gone by. It's time to take stock, and here you can find several lists of the best in 2020:  the 100 Best Songs of 2020 by NPR ,with their official video and an extract from a review, and  NPR's Best Books of the Year 2020 , with a mini review at one click. The New York Times is another renowned and respected source of cultural information. Here you can find the Best Movies of 2020 , the 10 Best Books of 2020 and if you are into music, the Best Albums of 2020 . Finally, for a more European viewpoint, you can check the BBC's Best Albums and Songs of 2020 (text only, no direct links to the music, sorry!), the BBC's Best Films of 2020 and the BBC's Best Books of the Year 2020. The vocabulary of cultural reviews is incredibly rich: literary, technic...

December is a good month for oral presentations. Students have a long bank holiday in Spain and not many university exams yet, so they can prepare a short, five-minute presentation about a topic of their choice. This activity takes only three lessons, one to give them encouragement and basic guidelines and two lessons for the presentations themselves, all in all, from 5/ 6:30 hours of classroom time and the results are always impressive. Here you can find a Lesson Plan for B2, C1 and C2 students which revolves around an Interactive Exercise that was originally published by Allyn & Bacon Public Speaking (www.abpublicspeaking.com, but this link is no longer available on the web), which has been adapted for B2, C1 and C2 students. You can also find the Key to the Interactive Exercise, which the teacher can use to give students the main guidelines for the task, and an Oral Presentation Checklist to help the teacher assess the presentations.  You can also find three more handout...

In the challenging economic scenario of a global pandemic, which has brought about confinements, telework, shop closures, furlough schemes, but also new business opportunities for pharmaceutical or computer companies, what are the top job skills that thriving companies are seeking in their new recruits? Here you have a collection of four articles that list the most highly demanded soft and tech skills in the corporate world. The first article comes form HR Vision, it quotes the recently published World Economic Forum report, " The Future of Jobs ", which predicts that by 2025, in the summit of a digital and biological revolution -the 4th Industrial Revolution- companies will be seeking candidates with communication and interpersonal skills, the so-called "soft skills", like "complex problem solving", "critical thinking", "creativity", "people management" or "emotional intelligence" to outperform robots and get things...

Can we categorize people's personality? Psychologists have tried to do so, it is part of their job.  The video below shows a categorization based on Jung's theories, which were later on applied by two American female psychologists, to develop a well-known questionnaire, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Personality tests, horoscopes etc. could be priceless materials to introduce character description adjectives in the EFL class.  This lesson plan for C1 students includes the Myers-Briggs test, a list of synonyms and some horoscope work, to present and practice this lexical area. You will come across words like: to check out, proper, at face value, eccentric, to flex muscles, a gut instinct, to spot, hands-on, to give away, to have a hard time, to excel, to crave, [to be] in the spotlight, to dive deep, reluctant, willing, to thrive, to carve, to forge, insightful, to see right through [it], mundane, to shy away from [something], charismatic, talented, jolly, reckless, laid-back...

Display Copy is a new fashion magazine that just features vintage and thrifted items from second hand and charity shops like eBay, Etsy or the Salvation Army, but pictured by top-notch models and photographers. "The idea was to make used clothes desirable", says Brian Hemingway, editor of the magazine.  The New York Times reports that "upcycling" is gaining momentum in the fashion industry, and well-established brand names like Miu-Miu, Levi's, Maison Margiela, Patagonia, Gucci, Stella McCartney or Burberry have launched collections of recycled clothes and have set up second life stores.   This article is suitable for C1 students. You will come across words like: disposablility, chic, a host of big brands, joy, upcycling, the cover [of a magazine], to feature, to debut, newsstands, a plus-size model, inclusivity, glossy shoots, vintage, secondhand, thrifted, pre-loved, for resale, a stream of [mostly] on-line shoppable [content], collectible, sustainable, [upc...

Poet Louise Glück has just been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Poetry must be read out loud to appreciate its sound and its music, the unique sound and music of a language, in this case English, which cannot be faithfully translated into any other language. Below you can watch a YouTube video of Louise Glück reading out loud several of her poems at a Lannan literary event.  After an introduction by Peter Streckfus, the poet reads " Mock Orange " (10:17), then two poems from her book " The Wild Iris " (10:29).  Next, two more poems from " Averno " (14:03): " Telescope " (14:27) and " Landscape ", which is introduced at 15:50 and recited at 17:26.  Then, Ms Glück goes on to read two poems from " A Village Life " (29:24), and. finally, the poetic rendition ends with two texts form " Faithful & Virtous Night " (43:11). You can read the words of " Landscape " while you listen to the poem on this lin...

On Tuesday November 3rd 2020, Americans will vote for the next President of the USA, but the battle between the two candidates, President Trump and Vice-President Biden is fought particularly fiercely in the "swing" states, where there race is very close. The reason is that the Presidential election is an indirect election: voters choose an Electoral College first, and then, the elected members of that Electoral College vote for the President, so the popular vote does not always decide the President, but the number of "electoral votes" -a minimum of 270-  that each candidate has won in each of the 50 states of the Union -the winner in each state carries all the votes from that constituency. Some states are clearly Republican, so they are called "red states" , basically, the Mid-West and the South, other states usually vote for the Democrats, they are called "blue states" , mainly on the West Coast and in New England, but there are "purple ...

Antonio Banderas, talks to Terry Gross on Fresh Air about his latest movie with Pedro Almodóvar, " Pain & Glory ", which earned him a "Best Actor Award" in the Cannes Film Festival and a nomitation to the Oscars, and about his acting career both in Spain and in Hollywood.  In addition, he explains what the contracultural movement, " La Movida " meant in 1980s Spain, when a whole country regained control of its own future and started enjoying public and private freedoms that had been alien during the dictatorship, and finally, he talks about his Soho Theatre in Malaga. During the interview, Antonio Banderas talks very openly about his experience as a learner of English, who started an acting career in Hollywood, with a very basic level of English and tons of chutzpah, and about the challenge of doing radio interviews in English. This 37 minute long interview can be accessible to B2 students, as long as they have the support of the transcript, but it cou...

Geena Davis became a household name with the film " Thelma & Louise " back in 1991. Since then, she has had a long career in the movie industry and as an activist to denounce gender inequality in Hollywood.  In this interview, she talks to  The Irish Times  about The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media , which she launched and has successfully managed for two decades; about sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement; about being a mother in her 40's and about her career in general.  The interview is long and the language includes some colloquial, American slang, so it is suitable for C1 students. You will surely find new words and expressions like: Hot dog!, harassment, prejudice, a sweatsuit, athleisure, a bra, knickers, snappy, personable, pals, cosy, lockdown, a homebody, downtime, to snuggle, to wipe, to scrub, to account for, to make up the top 100 grossing films, far-fetched, endeavour, to focus on, to launch, a toddler, her jaw dropped to the floor, g...

Padma Lakshmi is an international model, the host and executive producer of the TV show " Top Chef " in USA, and now she is the host of the new food and travel programme, " Taste the Nation " on Hulu, a leading Disney video service, where she visits chefs in immigrant communities who have contributed to the American culinary heritage. Ms. Lakshmi talks to Terry Gross on Fresh Air  (NPR) about her childhood as an immigrant from India in the USA; the cooking tradition she learnt from and how her mother transformed it to create new dishes by mixing ingredients from other cuisines; her first steps into the modelling world in Madrid and in Italy; a car accident she had; the sexual abuse she suffered twice in her life; her awareness-raising work as co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America and about her family in India. The interview lasts 41 minutes, so it can be used by C2 students and experts as background listening while you are doing something else, like ...

This is a "human interest" story from Humankind , a USA Today video channel on YouTube and Facebook that features "uplifting stories about kindness, triumphs and special relationships".  Sam Giambalvo is a travelling nurse who tells an emotional story at the 7:00 clap back in June 2020. She speaks fast, standard American English, but there are subtitles, which can be very helpful. You will hear lots of expressions related to feelings, for example: sirens, applause, honoring, frontline workers, to pass away, ER, to follow your feelings, comforting, I lost it, let me be upset, a split second, to get me through the shift, to give a hug, to look forward to something, a terrace, a storey, to hold a sign, to wave for you, to point at you, he fist pumps, he'll blow kisses, sirens wailing, joyous, appreciation, to sprint out there, to show up, God is blessing us, break, upbeat music .   This video can be recommended to C1 students (with the subtitles).

Morgan Bullock is a 20-year-old African American from Richmond, Virginia, who uploaded an Irish dance version of Beyoncé's " The Savage Remix " on Tik Tok, which went viral. Many people loved her artistic performance, but there were some who accused her of "cultural misappropriation".  If you want to find out the end of the story you can click on the following BBC link to watch a 4:15 video of the story with subtitles, which could be accessible to B2 students:  bbc.in/30p2Y6w But if your level of English is higher, you can try the full BBC video report below, which is 10:51, and has no subtitles The video above is more suitable for C1 or C2 students, but I have taken rough notes of some salient words on this worksheet, which can be used as a viewing guide in class or as homework, for those students who might often get lost in the long flow of speech.  There is also a simple lesson plan to use this video with C1 students in class.   Finally, if you want some more...

Bruce Springsteen published a memoir in 2016, entitled " Born to Run ", after his greatest hit, where he reveals some hidden aspects of his life and personality, so, he was interviewed by Terry Gross, to present his book on NPR's Fresh Air radio programme.  The listening is long, 22 minutes, so, it is problably very suitable for "extensive listening", that is, to listen to while you are doing something else, like walking, driving, or ironing, but you can always go the the script, if you are lost or if you want to check a word that you didn't pick up. I have used this interview as listening homework with my B2 students, although it is problably more suitable for C1 students.  I include some notes about how we discussed the interview in class and the cultural information I had to give my students to help them understand the context of the book, the musician and the journalist. Here are my notes on a link to Google Drive.

Ennio Morricone has died at the age of 91 in Rome. He was the composer of the score of  more than 500 films, including successful "spaghetti westerns" like " The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ", " Once Upon a Time in the West " with director Sergio Leone and other box office hits like " Cinema Paradiso ", " The Mission " or Brian de Palma's " The Untouchables ".  He won an honorary Oscar in 2007, and an outright one for Quentin Tarantino's film " The Hateful Eight " in 2015.  He was recently awarded the 2020 Princess of Asturias Prize for the Arts by the Spanish Crown. He managed to create an atmosphere of mystery, toughness and humour by orchestrating music based on "howls, gunshots and groans".  Rose Friedman, writing an appreciation for NPR, says that in Western movies, where dialogue was minimal, "music did the talking".   Here you can listen to a 4-minute radio report with its script, an...

You Don't Own Me (1963) is a feminist song that makes a strong statement in favour of women's emancipation in the second wave of the feminist movement (1960s-1980s), (you can find out more about this on this Wikipedia link). The song is quite easy to understand, here you can find a lesson plan for B1 students with a fill-in-the gap listening task, the full lyrics and a speaking activity which includes a discussion and an sing-along exercise to promote articulatory fluency. I would like to thank my student Cristina T. for sending me the video of this song. In 2015, one month after Lesley Gore died, the Australian singer song-writer Grace released a cover of the song which was a hit in the  music charts of Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Here, you can find a link to Grace's video and compare the two versions of the song:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEt7bnuO5y0