English for Enogastronomy

Talking about past events and emotions together with some hints at poetic language. Oscar Wilde offers us another chance to appreciate his words and wit. We wish to thank professor Simonetta Antonioni for the kind support and interesting lecture. THE SELFISH GIANT (Thank you HarperCollins e-book for sharing) USE OF ENGLISH ( level A2) Simple Past Tense   in narrating past events (Courtesy of professor Simonetta Antonioni) A quick guide to Wilde's poetic language (Courtesy of professor Simonetta Antonioni)

This week we're going to learn how to make a written/oral report about fiction ( novel/short story). I'm sharing two versions of Oscar Wilde's The Canterville Ghost; a full version for upper intermediate level ( B2) and an adapted one for pre-intermidiate ( B1). I also include a synopsis about the author and his short story and a mind map with suggestions for a three-minute-talk. To Know more about Oscar Wilde you can read my previous post HERE B1 version B2 version SYNOPSIS BOOK REVIEW-MIND MAP

Look at the following pictures and describe them. Here are my  tips for describing a photo or a picture in English Do:     • Look at your picture carefully and take a few moments to think before you start talking.     • Talk for all the time you are given. If you have one minute to do the task, use every second.     • Practise the useful language below so you can explain which part of the picture you are talking about. Don’t:     • Panic if you don’t know the words for all the things in the picture. You don’t need to know all the words for everything in the picture if you know what to say when you don't know an exact word.       • Get distracted and start talking about something else. Focus on the photo or picture.     • Panic if your mind goes blank ( se non ti ricordi nulla). Take a deep breath, look at the picture and start again.  Here is some language you can use: What is in ...

Una delle prove fondamentali  dell’esame di stato riguarda il colloquio , all’interno del quale troveranno spazio i percorsi per le competenze trasversali e per l’orientamento (ex alternanza scuola-lavoro). Il colloquio è volto ad accertare il conseguimento, da parte dei candidati, di quanto previsto dal profilo culturale, educativo e professionale degli studenti. Essi dovranno quindi esporre, mediante una breve relazione e/o un elaborato multimediale,anche  l’esperienza di alternanza scuola-lavoro ora denominata  “percorsi per le competenze trasversali e per l’orientamento” ( PCTO ) To support my students during the quarantine days I have prepared the following lesson plan:    When talking about your future plans you use the future tenses. In the following slideshare you have a presentation of the most used ones. ( thank you Professor  Raúl Cabezalí Blanco for sharing ) The Future - mind-map from Raúl Cabezalí Blanco ...

  Green Book tells the story of two men who are forced to become friends during their journey on a concert tour in the racist South of the USA. The film is based on a true story : in the 1960s, musician Don Shirley and a tough guy and chauffeur, Tony Lip, are complete opposites. Shirley is a highly-educated African-American who lives above Carnegie Hall playing classical music for audiences. Lip, is an Italian-American from the Bronx who works in security but agrees to be Shirley's driver through the south. They are two very different guys, with different problems,  who grow to respect and admire one another .  But what has the Green Book to do with them? And, more in general, WHAT is the Green Book?   The GREEN BOOK was  a guide which  listed hotels, restaurants and even gas stations that were safe for black people during the time of African- American segregation. Created by Victor H. Green in Harlem, for 30 years, travelers f...

A PREZI presentation about the many meanings of the word discrimination .  Do you Know what  HUMAN RIGHTS are?  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into more than 500 languages. Click here for more details. This is a lesson plan on Human Rights for my fellow teachers ( thank you Equality and Human Rights for sharing)

Back to theatre again  with our students. We'd love to welcome this glowing Roman Autumn with a brand new performance by PALKETTOSTAGE "THE PICTURE of DORIAN GRAY" Oscar Wilde was born on 16th October 1854, in Dublin, Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and at Magdalen College, Oxford, and eventually settled in London.  A great conversationalist and a famous wit, Wilde began by publishing witty, comic plays among which we must remember Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895...you can read our PREVIOUS POST HERE! ) , and his most famous play, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Wilde published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, before he reached the height of his fame. It was criticized as scandalous and immoral, so Wilde revised it in 1891, adding a preface and six new chapters. The Preface (as Wilde calls it) introduces his  philosophy of art. Devoted to a school of thought...

Some ne w catchy and creative lectures about Sha kespeare's Hamlet carried out by our teaching team (click on the arrow to enlarge). Courtesy of professor Simonetta Antonioni Courtesy of professor Adele Esposito

My latest flipped class before taking  students to theatre. Enjoy. WARM UP: answer the following questions. Write your answers on your notebook. Have you ever been to the theatre? Which play did you see? Do you know the names of any famous playwright? Have you ever seen any English plays or heard of any English playwrights?  Have you ever heard of Shakespeare or seen any of his plays(or films based on them) ? Can you name any of his plays? Do you know when he lived or anything about his life? Now watch the video. Remember that while watching  you can stop, skip, move forward/backw ard , watch it again. Last but not least, to switch to full screen click the full screen icon in the bottom corner of the video.   A nswer the following questions (c lick on the highlighted words to find out more ) : When and where was Shakespeare born? What did Shakespeare’s father do? With whom did he marry? How many children did they have? Why did he g...

8th of March: International Women's Day.   T rying to take my students to the cinema ( against all odds!) to watch THIS... ... doing some simple and not boring ( let's hope!) activities as detailed below. Never surrender. Never give up the fight!                                 Show What You Know about the issue now! ( answers HERE ) 1. What was the first country to give women the right to vote: a. Australia b. England c. New Zealand d. United States 2. Women in the United States won the right to vote in national elections in: ...