THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

Today I recommend watching The Importance of Being Earnest here, the 2002  British-American romantic comedy-drama film based on Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners play of the same name.

This play is funny all the time, actually there is nothing earnest about it, at least on the surface! It is a satire of the Victorian era, when a complicated code of behaviour governed everything from communication to sexuality. Regarded by many as Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece, it offers a brilliant commentary on class, money, marriage and morals.

Click here to read the whole play.

Here and here you can find a detailed analysis of the play (plot, characters, themes).

BRITAIN, THE EU AND THE BREXIT REFERENDUM

Yesterday Britain voted to leave the European Union  by 52 per cent to 48 per cent.

What happens now? No one really knows,  since no nation has ever departed from the EU before. 

Read here about "the Brexit question".

One thing is for sure, the United Kingdom appears to be a country divided, and may not be a country for long. Read here.

Today British Prime Minister David Cameron, who had campaigned vigorously for a "Remain" vote,  appeared outside 10 Downing Street to announce his plans to leave government in three months.

II PROVA SCRITTA ESAMI DI STATO

Yesterday my students of  5^C Liceo Linguistico took an English test on the day of their II Prova Scritta.

It included a text analysis and a composition, but they could choose among four different articles. All of them were very interesting but slightly complicated.

You can download them here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IAN McEWAN!

Born on 21 June 1948, in Aldershot, England, Ian McEwan earned notice for his short stories before his 1978 debut novel The Cement Garden. Many other long-form works have followed over the years, including the Booker Prize-winning Amsterdam, Atonement, Saturday and Sweet Tooth. Several of his works have been adapted into film and McEwan has worked as a screenwriter on projects like The Good Son.

Continue reading here.

ONLINE RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Here are 5 things you might like to do in order to "skill up" this summer!
Click here to find lots of teaching ideas and resources!

http://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/

http://www.englishforeveryone.org/

https://www.britishcouncil.org.br/en/programmes/english/resources-teachers

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/resources-for-teachers/

http://www.onestopenglish.com/

http://www.examenglish.com/
http://www.eslgold.com/

HAPPY BLOOMSDAY!

Bloomsday is a celebration that takes place both in Dublin and around the world. It celebrates Thursday 16 June 1904, which is the day depicted in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the central character in Ulysses. The novel follows the life and thoughts of Leopold Bloom and a host of other characters – real and fictional – from 8am on 16 June 1904 through to the early hours of the following morning.

Celebrations often include dressing up like characters from the book and in clothes that would have been the style of the era. One of the hallmark fancy dress items of Bloomsday is the straw boater hat. Celebrations come in many different forms like readings, performances and visiting the places and establishments that are referenced in the book. The Bloomsday Breakfast is another common celebration, which involves eating the same breakfast as Leopold Bloom consumes on the morning of 16 June. This includes liver and kidneys alongside the typical ingredients of an Irish fried breakfast. Continue reading here.

LEARN ENGLISH THROUGH STORIES - INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

Click  here  to listen and read some more English short stories.

THE IMITATION GAME

It is a 2014 American historical thriller film directed by  Morten Tyldum, with a screenplay  based on the biography  "Alan Turing: The Enigma"  by  Andrew Hodges.  

During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of 'gross indecency', an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality - little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing.  As a matter of fact, Alan Turing had decrypted German intelligence codes for the British government during World War II.

Read  the article “The Imitation Game” Dramatizes the Story of Alan Turing here.

Here you can read an interesting review of this inspiring and sad movie.
Benedict Cumberbatch's excellent performance gives added complexity to a fine account of the life of codebreaker Alan Turing. Continue reading here. 

A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN - 5^C LINGUISTICO

A Room of One's Own is a long essay about society and art and sexism written  by Virginia Woolf. First published in 1929, it was based on a series of lectures she delivered at Newnham College and Girton College, two women's colleges at Cambridge University in October 1928. 

Here you can read Virginia Woolf's essay online.

Click here to find an exhaustive analysis of this work of feminist literary criticism.

JUNE

“In the hope of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom in their feet.”

Albert Schweitzer