Child prodigy

Have you ever met a child prodigy? If not, it's my pleasure to introduce Emily Bear, who some are calling the next Mozart. Watch this short video and answer the questions below in your notepads. Feel free to post a comment saying whether you think this a hoax or if it's for real.

1. In what prestigious venue did Emily have the honour of performing?
2. Where is Emily from? (city and state, country)
3. What does Emily do in addition to performing music?
4. Where does Emily's music come from (according to her)? What word does her family not like to use to describe her talent?
5. Who "discovered" Emily? When Emily was two years her grandmother heard her playing a ___________. (fill in the blank) What does Emily's grandma do for a living? Who did grandma contact when she discovered Emily's prestigious talent? What piece is she practicing now and for what concert?
7. Who wrote Emily's favourite song? Who was this song written for?
8. Why is the stuffed animal that Emily is holding her favourite?
9. What does Emily want people to think about her? What does Emily want to be when she grows up?
Discussion questions:
1. Do you think Emily was born with this gift, as the reporter says, or was she simply a product of her environment? Justify your answer.
2. Do you think it's possible to learn to play the piano like Emily as an adult? Why or why not?

Nice resource for self-study

Here's a good website if you want to study a bit in advance for the CAE (those of you who might be interested in doing it next year). I'll make a few suggestions on how to use it to your advantage in our next lesson http://www.flo-joe.com/cae/students/wordbank/wform.htm

David Beckham 'hangs out' with google

David Beckham is arguably football's most international ambassador. In a nation where football (or soccer, as they call it) is historically not the most popular sport, Beckham has brought it to spotlight. Watch this short interview and 'hang out' with David Beckham. There are some questions for you to answer below. 1. Why is David Beckham pleased to be given an offer from the LA Galaxy? 2. Why did Beckham choose to stay with Galaxy and not accept an offer elsewhere? 3. What is the first question made to Beckham about his team (from the woman standing at the microphone), and how does he respond? Is he serious? 4. What is one of Beckham's biggest passions? What country does he talk about and what does he have to say about the children there? 5. What was Victoria Beckham's concern about the royal wedding? How does Beckham pronounce 'sitting?' 6. What joke does Beckham make about his underwear campaign and what three-letter word does he use to make a joke about the interviewer's comments? 7. What country has Beckham not visited yet? He says it would be 'exciting' to visit this country - how does he pronounce this word? (Remember what we discussed in class about the way British people pronounce the 't' when they are feeling relaxed and unguarded). 8. Who does all the google searches in Beckham's family and what does he search for?

A taste of the Cambridge Advanced Speaking exam

Those of you interested in doing the CAE next year might find it useful to check out some of the sample speaking exam videos available on youtube, such as this one. We'll talk more about this in class.

Confession from an Arizona governor

Here's something you don't see very often: a former politician risking ridicule by being honest. In class I'll give you an activity to accompany this video. For now just try to understand what the former governor is confessing to, and listen to the video several times until you feel comfortable with the language used.
Here's some vocabulary that comes up that might help:
1. astounded - amazed, very surprised
2. 'stir the pot' - expression meaning make things worse by causing a controversy
3. chief of staff - a person in charge of day-to-day affairs of a office-holding politician
And here's one question to think about: why did Mr. Symington take so long to make his confession?

Di Caprio and Page interview each other

Questions

1. The actors seem a bit nervous at times during this interview. How is this format different from other interview programs?
2. What word is used in the first question to describe the rapport or mutual attraction among the actors?
3. In answering the second question, what does Di Caprio say about the acting profession?
4. What are the two "unscripted" questions Page asks Di Caprio? (What does unscripted mean?)
5. What unscripted question does Di Caprio ask Page?