"An attempt to integrate the teaching of the English language & ICT, using MUSIC as a mere pretext."


Saturday, March 17, 2012

St. Patrick's Day (2)


Let's commemorate St. Patrick's Day
with some humour about the Irish...



An old Irish joke tells that …

Once upon a time three very good friends met in an Irish pub
 to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Each of the three friends, Johnnie, Alister and Paddy, 
orders a pint of Guinness to the barman in the pub. 
After being served, each friend finds a fly in their pint of beer.
The three of them react in a very different way:  
Repulsed, the Englishman sends his back. 
The Scotsman gently flicks the fly out of his mug and begins drinking. 
And finally, the Irishman, carefully lifts the fly up by its wings and starts screaming…   
"Spit it out!... Spit it out!"


READING COMPREHENSION 
about the Joke (... and beyond):
1.- What are they celebrating?
2.- Which of the three friends is the Irish?
3.- Do you know the name of that colloquial Irish name?
4.- Who is the Englishman? And the Scotsman?
5.- Do you know where England, Scotland and Ireland 
are exactly on a map of the British Isles?

You can read more "Humour about the Irish" here .

*****

To celebrate this important date for the Irish, 
let's watch the following short film:

An Ode to Ireland on St. Patrick's Day.



 For Further Information about Ireland (in Spanish)
have a look at the following link

By the way, 
Talking about Ireland...
Which colour is the traditionally Irish one?

To answer that question, have a look at this video,
an example of St. Patrick's Day as a Global Celebration. :


* * *

And finally, to finish this post, 
listen to some music from an Irish band...
"Toss the Feathers", by The Corrs.
(Don't worry about the lyrics of the song ...
... It's just instrumental.)


Happy St. Patrick's Day!


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.-
You also can have a look at the post published 
on St. Patrick's Day in 2011 at "English@Edrissis".
.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

A Tribute to All Women

                                                    Logo


Today (March 8th) is International Women's Day.

Let's consider this post
Simply a Tribute to All Women
 and
Let's share a song and a poem for all Working Women:

First, the song ...

"I'm Every Woman"
by Chaka Khan


You can check the lyrics of the song here .

And Second, the poem...

"WORKING WOMEN"
 by Deedee

Every working woman wants to:
Perform meaningful tasks
Take pride in all her accomplishments
Set goals she can reach
Enhance her boss’ life
And make him look good

Every working woman wants to:
Have a position where she is needed
Make a difference in someone else’s life
Be able to get along with her co-workers
Be a team member
Be a team player

Every working woman wants to:
Make enough money to support herself
And have enough left over for pleasure
Have some meaningful time alone
Spend quality time with her mate
Not be stressed out at the end of her day
So she can love and nurture her children
And still be able to satisfy her man

But mostly, every working woman wants to:
Be taken seriously as a worker
And still be a woman.

***



DEBATE.-
This poem, according to her author, discusses the issues that are most important to every working woman.
Do you agree with all the statements mentioned on the poem?
Please, If you disagree with some of the statements, name them and reason your answer.

 *** 

Talking about...
Celebrating Working Women
on this International Women's day ...

Watch the following video as a summary of the role played by women in recent history. 
It provides a look at several interesting facts about the changes and developments 
that have impactted women in the workforce. 

 

A worthwhile video, isn't it?
  
***
And just to finish...

Have a look at the following video
dedicated to all the Modern Women I know...


 Have a lovely International Women's Day!
.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

SPORTS & MUSIC IN SOCIETY

                                                        Photo by João Vicente/JVC, via Flickr


Sport and Music are part of society. They often go hand-in-hand.
We all know that Sport and Music have many things in common. 
Both of them are universal languages with the same objective: 
to bring people together.

Events such as football matches can be vehicles for promoting certain types of music.
An example of that are Spain’s biggest football teams: Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
For many people there is a connection between some songs and the mentioned football teams. 
Can you guess the songs we refer to?

The two selected songs are very popular among people in general, 
and especially popular among football players.


Watch the following videos and complete the chart:

VIDEO  1
VIDEO  2
Song:
Song:
Singer:
Band:

                    VIDEO  1

                                          

                                                                 VIDEO 2
                                                                                


* * * * *
Some NOTES about the two selected songs, taken from Wikipedia.

Notes on Video 1
“Popularity in football”
The song became extremely popular in Spain and all over Europe after Real Madrid players Marcelo Vieira and Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated a goal dancing to the choreography of the song. Playing in the National Professional Football League of Spain, the dance was performed by the two players after Ronaldo scored the first goal against Málaga CF on October 22, 2011.

Notes on Video 2
“Sporting usage”
The song also became the anthem of Spanish football club FC Barcelona during the 2008-09 season. It turned out to be a season of unprecedented success for the Spanish club in 2009, as they won all six competitions they could possible be involved in, which no football club has managed before in history. The song was selected by the manager of the club, Guardiola - himself a fan - to help motivate and encourage his team. It is often played at the Camp Nou before the start of a Barcelona match.

 * * * * *
Now, considering the 2 SONGS and the 2 Football Teams,
Real Madrid and FCBarcelona, ...
... Can you guess which song is connected with each football team?



VIDEO  1
VIDEO  2
FOOTBALL
TEAM



ANSWERS.-

ANSWER  -  VIDEO 1

 

ANSWER - VIDEO 2


* * * * *
... And you?
Do you know other examples of music related to sports?
.