A Field Day for Idioms

The fateful words "She is just a sort of bigoted woman " and "That was a disaster" will go down in history as a spectacular case of Prime Minister Gordon Brown shooting himself in the foot. His prospects of winning the forthcoming General Election next week have possibly been irreparably damaged and his reputation lies in tatters. The cartoon above taken from the Independent shows a picture of Gordon Brown shooting himself in the foot over the choice of words he used about pensioner Gillian Duffy when he thought he was in private. Unfortunately, as the whole world now knows, his microphone was still switched on when he got into his car.

I love the headline above- "Gillian only popped out for a loaf and came back with Brown toast". A wonderful use of informal language "pop out" meaning to go out for a short time, and the play on words "Brown toast" which means that Gordon Brown is in desperate straits or indeed, doomed.

Thanks to the English Blog's excellent coverage of the events here, I was able to view some brilliant cartoons and use them as a handy warmer and discussion opener with my eager FCE / Upper Intermediate level students in the morning and my group of lovely secondary school teachers in the afternoon. I had a copy of the Guardian newspaper to hand and the front page showed a dejected Prime Minister with his head in his hands. The following is a Tagxedo of the words that came up in the discussion that ensued.

Volcanic Ash - Act of Nature

"I've got something to tell you which isn't too good" my hubby told me this morning at around 11a.m. I was upstairs packing my case ready for me to fly back to the UK tomorrow to teach at the Lake School of English on a Teachers Refresher course on Monday. His face didn't look too happy and I immediately thought of something it could be. Thank goodness I was wrong, but what he said next was not positive. "All flights to the UK have been cancelled due to volcanic ash from Iceland". I looked at him with incomprehension." Err... volcanic ash??? What on earth do you mean?" Well, the following article from the Daily Telegraph today explains in full what this situation means.

Image created just now from wordle.com

After watching this news bulletin from the BBC News, I suddenly undestood the gravity of what has happened and is still happening in Iceland. I am very sorry for all the disruption it is causing to so many people.
In Pictures from BBC News.
A lesson hot off the press literally from Jason Renshaw's English Raven blog called "Iceland? Volcanoes? Ash Clouds? Have I got a TEFL Lesson for you!"
Iceland volcano shuts Euro airspace a lesson from Sean Banville's Breaking News English website.

The big question now is:will Janet get on a flight tomorrow so that she can teach on Monday morning? I am hoping the answer will be yes, and for quite a number of very important reasons.

Coming soon!
Arabella's First Grand Outing in Second Life
Anima Petri Wine Review
New Book Review of "Moodle 1.9 Theme Design: Beginners Guide Book"
Lake School of English News Update

Asbos in the News

Asbo is a very popular acronym and it stands for "Anti-Social Behaviour Order". Asbos have been around since 1998 and were first introduced by Tony Blair's government to curb a growing tide of anti-social behaviour. Indeed, the scheme was so successful (not) that it encouraged young thugs and yobs to gain more than one Asbo in order to show them off proudly as a badge of honour. Now this topic is in the news again with Alan Johnson, the new Home Secretary, saying "We need action, not talk, on anti-social behaviour". Read the full article from the Daily Telegraph here.

Ageless
Asbos seem to have no age restrictions. Here is an article from the Daily Mirror with a reference to an Asbo being given to a very young person and here is another article from ITN News which covers a story about an Asbo given to a pensioner of 82. Learn more about the meaning of the word from this BBC Learning English lesson.

Asbos for Kids
Teachers will be able to take parents of disruptive pupils to court under Government plans to be unveiled this week. Read more of this topical article from Yahoo News here.

Who is ultimately responsible for a child's behaviour? Parents or teachers? What is your opinion?

The Day the Music Died

I woke up this morning to hear that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, died in Los Angeles yesterday after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest. Today the world is in mourning for one of the true pop icons of the era and tributes have been pouring in from far afield. His life has been tragically cut short at only 50 years of age but his wonderful music will live on for time immemorial. I remember singing and dancing along to his greatest hits such as "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" and being wowed by his innovative dance moves and stunning choreography. He was the original superstar and pop idol for millions of people from all walks of life.

I loved the "Moonwalk", a move I could never emulate.

Twitter: RIP MJ
News of Michael Jackson's death has caused the internet to run slowly and at times grind to a halt as people scrambled to find out whether the reports were true. "RIP MJ" is the top 'tweeting' topic on Twitter as fans pay tribute to the King of Pop online. Read more of the article from Yahoo News here.

The Timesonline has just published "Michael Jackson RIP-the good, the Bad and the ugly"
The article outlines the highs and lows of Michael Jackson's incredible career.


Thrilling Music of all time?
The Times asks if indeed "Thriller" is one of the most influential albums of all time in this article here. Do you agree with their list?

The "IPOD" Generation

Perennially seeking new hidden gems in the media for possible lesson exploitation, I came across this very interesting article about the "IPOD" Generation the other day. You may well be surprised to know that in this particular case, "IPOD" does not have the same meaning as what you think! It is an acronyn for "Insecure, Pressurised, Over-taxed and Debt-ridden", refering to the youth of "Broke Britain". I first cut out the article from the Daily Mail on 21st October 2008 and put it to one side, ready for me to "do something with it" . The time has come, so here goes!
Click here to read the article in full.

In the Red
In the report mentioned in the article, the finances of 18-34 year-olds were put under the spotlight. Young people today are under enormous pressure to get on in life. They are faced with so much choice and have been lured by banks to get ever more into debt. They are unable to put money away for a secure future as the cost of living is sky high. The image of "broke" Britain is ever more present during the credit crunch and it is a difficult period in history. Here is an interesting video from www.videojug.com on "How to deal with being broke after graduation".

YUPPIES
The days of "YUPPIES" refer to an era long gone and now according to this article, the acronym has come to mean "Young Unhappy Professionals". Those were the days!

Idioms of the Hour
To be in the red: to be in debt
To be broke: to be without money/ short of money

Flying High

A quarter of a century in business is cause for real celebration, especially when it concerns Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airlines- a Red Letter Day indeed!

Supermodel Kate Moss kicked off Virgin Atlantic's 25th birthday celebrations by dressing as one of the airline's flying pin-up girls.

Flashing her long legs in a red, strapless playsuit and Yves Saint Laurent Tribute platform heels, Kate jumped into the arms of a willing Sir Richard Branson as they posed on the wing of a Virgin jumbo. Read more of the article here.

Virgin Atlantic can justifiably be proud it is flying high in these difficult times of recession and the credit crunch. A lot of companies have had to "tighten their belts". You can read more about its history here.



Idioms of the Hour
A red letter day: a special occasion such as a birthday
To tighten one's belt: to have to spend less in times of financial hardship
Red hot: extremely exciting or popular

Tweetbike

Motorbike + Twitter - what do you get? The answer is "Tweetbike" - an innovative online social experiment introduced by Paul Clarke to help people get around the recent London Tube strike by sending tweets to him. The power of Twitter has no bounds! Read the full story here.

The One Millionth Word
Well, the phrase "Web 2.0" has apparently been voted as the millionth word in the English language. I personally think this phrase has been around for quite a while now so I'm surprised it has been included in this category. The English Blog has got an excellent post on this subject here and also have a look at this informative post by Macmillan English Dictionary Blog.

Macmillan Webinar: 7 Things Beginning with M
I look forward to downloading the session presented yesterday by Scott Thornbury. Unfortunately, I was unable to follow the complete webinar, so I will catch up next week when the session can be viewed on the web. Can you think of 7 important words pertaining to ELT beginning with the letter M?

A Storm in a Teacup?

In times of turmoil the first thing most British people turn to is a nice hot brew. "I'm dying for a cuppa" is a common refrain in times of stress or after a particularly hectic activity. Tea has long-since been known for its therapeutic qualities and indeed, it seems to work as a relaxant in a lot of cases.

In Hot Water
An article about tea has caught my eye today. An advert for Tetley green tea has been banned by watchdogs for making misleading health claims. Hence the company is now "in hot water", meaning that they are in trouble. Read more here. It is not the first time that claims have been made about the benefits of Tetley. Read here. Whatever is claimed, however, I can guarantee you that it is a refreshing drink and we are well stocked up on Tetley teabags here in Civitaquana!

1990 Tetley Tea Advertisement
I particularly like this amusing advertisement for Tetley tea sung to the tune of "Hound Dog".



Tea at the Ritz
It has always been my desire to have afternoon tea at the Ritz in London. Maybe one day, when I am rich and famous, my wish might come true! The Ritz is a member of the prestigious Tea Guild.

Language note: the idiom " a storm in a teacup" dates from 1838!

Blogging in the Rain

This song always cheers me up!




Lonesome in the Valley
It's raining hard, K's on a motorbike tour in the mountains, the girls are in their pen, Kelly's on guard, the furkids are tucked up in a cosy corner upstairs, and me? I'm listening to the continuous pitter patter of the rainfall outside contemplating the meaning of life and how it pans out for some people...

Sunshine after the Rain
Susan Boyle must be feeling devastated about not winning Britain's Got Talent. The surprising result has been very well documented in the newspapers. Please see the English Blog's excellent postings and cartoons regarding the latest updates on her story and also read a thought-provoking posting by Saro Rosales. I personally feel sorry for Susan Boyle as she has been caterpaulted to fame in such a quick fashion that she has hardly had time to register what the implications are for her personal life. I do think she has a lovely voice and I hope she will not be affected negatively by her fame. I hope she remembers that the sunshine will always come after the rain!

Nuns in the News

The recent news and featured post in The English Blog about the group of men who were arrested in Crete for dressing up in nuns' attire has brought back memories of my youth when I was rather fixated in becoming a nun. The wonderful film "The Song of Bernadette", which won four Oscars in 1943 for Best Actress (Jennifer Jones), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Music and then of course, the amazing "Sound of Music", which won 5 Oscars in 1965, all inspired me to enter the mysterious, inner sanctuary of a convent....

This is one of my favourite songs from the musical- "Climb every Mountain".



Lesson Ideas

Talk about Childhood Ambition
Ask your students in pairs, to discuss what they wanted to be when they were young. Be prepared to tell them what you wanted to be, and if possible, to make it more personal, show them something which refers to your childhood dream , like I have demonstrated above.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do" Write the above proverb on the board and ask your students to discuss the meaning. Then refer to the article about the men dressed as nuns and get the students to discuss whether this sort of behaviour would be acceptable in their countries or not.

Hypothetical Question
Ask your students to discuss the following question in small groups: If you had to organise a night out on the town with friends, maybe on the occasion of a "stag do" or "hen party", what costume or "accoutrements" would you suggest all your group could wear?