1. LEARNING ENGLISH AND OTHER LANGUAGES

Well, this is actually a very hard one to find songs for - I really can't remember anyone singing a song about learning English, though there are plenty of classics that I'm sure students know from their early adventures in English, such as these:

One suitable song, judging by the way some students seem to forget the basics, is this classic:

However, over the years I have collected a large amount of videos, some of which I use in my lessons, which are fun and from which you can also get some ideas of what to talk about with this topic. Here is a selection:

The History of English in 10 minutes (a very useful & funny overview of how English developed):

The German Coastguard (a funny example of why it is hard for foreigners, especially Germans, to use the 'th' sound):

Inspector Clouseau -(the problems the French have!):

The Super Interpreter (how other languages sound to the English!):

Alex Rawlings - (a young man who has learnt 11 different languages!):

Pronunciation Poem (to help with some common mistakes):

How German sounds compared to other languages (great fun, and good to compare the other languages!):

And last, but not least, if you feel that (as a Czech) your English is not very good, then this guy will make you feel MUCH better ;-)

Preparing for the English Maturita - using music & video clips :-)

Recently, I had a conversation with a student (Štěpán Zendulka, to be exact ;-)). He was very sincere about trying to correct his regular mistakes in conversation, and wondered if I could help him by pointing him to some suitable websites etc. Truth is, the internet is FULL of useful websites - too many even for me to surf! But it reminded me of something that occurred to me a while ago - that I believe it is possible to prepare for the English Maturita in a fun & informative way, with the use of music (or in some cases, video clips). 

Music is a great way to learn pronunciation (though not always grammar!): 

And with many, if not all of the themes, it is possible to find some interesting, perhaps even thoughtful song(s).

And so, as Maturita draws ever closer, I will attempt to prove my point on this Blog. I only hope that Štěpán and other students will find it helpful, and therefore, some feedback would be great - or even some suggestions. Who knows? This could prove to be an invaluable resource ;-)

Happy studying!
Mr E

Winds of change....

Life has been very busy lately. Since Christmas, which was very refreshing & relaxing, it has been pretty much a non-stop blur of activity - teaching, planning for lessons, English Olympiada, teaching outside of school, and also preparing for the International Student Leadership Institute (I.S.L.I.) which will be in Germany in March (for which I'm also the European director). Some things have gone smoothly, and others not so....

On top of all this, there is the normal life which I live outside of school. I guess teachers don't talk a lot about their private lives. I let out some snippets from time to time, and am quite happy to be open about sharing what's happening in my life, but all too often, time & the school curriculum  do not permit it. (In case you were wondering...I have a wonderful wife, a wonderful marriage, but there are family concerns elsewhere...as well as friends who are seriously ill too...) 

We teachers are not robots, though I confess, the behaviour of one or two does concern me at times ;-) Life affects us...and so do changes at school.

Since I began over 9 years ago, I have seen a few colleagues leave from the English Dept... Miss Eichlerova (who became Sykorova), Miss Kohoutkova, Mrs Greplova, Mrs Cesalova...and the first day back at school, we discovered that Mrs Tihelkova had given her notice in... One of the 'pillars' of the English section, after over 20 years of teaching at SGO, is going to finish at the end of March...

The news is still fresh. All of her students now know. I'm not at liberty to say why she is going. That would be for you to ask her. But let's just say that I'm not happy about the circumstances surrounding it ;-) 

Change is an unavoidable part of life. Some people don't like it, they resist it, even forcefully...I think the most important thing is how to respond to it, for change must surely come... Some things will not be the same - it might be better, it might be worse...it's all a question of how we face it.