HAPPY NEW YEAR!

DOWNTON ABBEY

This is far from a perfect film—it feels a bit rushed and thin  ...  still, it works. It really works. It's goodhearted and clever, and it knows when to end.  Read here.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/10/downton-abbey-review-imelda-staunton-maggie-smith

https://engvideo.pro/en/films/downton-abbey/

JANE AUSTEN MOVIE ADAPTATIONS

The iconic Jane Austen's stories of independent women in the Regency era have been enthralling audiences for centuries. It only makes sense that with the creation of the movies these stories quickly moved to the big screen. Movies allow Jane Austen's stories to be told in an entirely new way, bringing life to many beloved characters.  Read here.

https://fsharetv.co/movie/persuasion-episode-1-tt0844330

https://fsharetv.co/movie/pride-&-prejudice-episode-1-tt0414387

https://fsharetv.co/movie/emma-episode-1-tt0116191

https://fsharetv.co/movie/sense-and-sensibility-episode-1-tt0114388

https://fsharetv.co/movie/the-jane-austen-book-club-episode-1-tt0866437

REVISING ELIZABETHAN THEATRE AND DRAMA

During Elizabeth I’s reign English playwrights began to write comedies and tragedies. By the end of her reign playwrights such as Marlowe, Johnson and Shakespeare were writing the plays for which they are now famous. Read here.

https://nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/era/elizabethan-theatre-drama/

WHAT IS IAMBIC PENTAMETER?

If you’ve studied any of Shakespeare’s sonnets, you may have heard of "iambic pentameter" … but what exactly is iambic pentameter?

In a line of poetry, an "iamb" is a foot or beat consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.  Read here.

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” Charles Dickens

TEACHING, LEARNING AND BLOGGING

 

Here are some very interesting and useful blogs to teach and learn English:

https://laproflaghigna.blogspot.com/

https://laurarandazzo.com/

http://cristianaziraldo.altervista.org/

https://englishproficiency.com/blog/

https://lrcapuana.com/

https://inglesiesollosgrandes.blogspot.com/

https://myenglishscrapbook.blogspot.com/

http://www.eslmadeeasy.ca/

https://aliciateacher2.wordpress.com/2021/06/24/summer-activities-keep-your-skills-going/

IMPROVING ENGLISH WITH GABBY

https://www.grammarlookup.com/british-vs-american-english/

https://steemit.com/alintagar/@alintagar/vocabulary-differences-between-american-and-british-english-part-2

https://englishwithgabby.com/about/

READING MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN

Mary Shelley's famous Gothic novel is considered a landmark work and every decade brings a new interpretation. Here is a selection - some include plot details,

Read here.

https://student.iedl.ir/Four_Corners/Four_Corners_2nd/FC3C/Frankenstein.pdf

DECEMBER

"The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination."
Terri Guillemets

THANKSGIVING DAY

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH - 5^D LINGUISTICO

Here you can explore the Wordsworth Museum which is next door to Dove Cottage  - it was in this little cottage, at times "crammed edge full" with people, in the heart of the remote Lake District, that William Wordsworth wrote some of the greatest poetry in the English language.

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE - 2^C LINGUISTICO

REMEMBRANCE DAY

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.”

Colonel John McRae, "In Flanders Fields"

November 11th - Armistice Day, 1918.

On the 11th hour, of the 11th day of the 11th month we remember all those who have fallen.

Remembrance Day is marked annually on 11 November to commemorate the end of the First World War in 1918, followed by Remembrance Sunday.

The day is also observed to remember all those who sacrificed their lives in the war, with a 2 minute silence at 11am.

MOLLY MALONE - 2^C LINGUISTICO

Molly Malone is the enigmatic heroine of the famous song of the same name, widely recognised as Dublin’s unofficial anthem. Immortalised in bronze during the 1988 Dublin Millennium celebrations, the Molly Malone statue stands in the heart of the city’s historic Georgian Quarter.

According to the lyrics of the undeniably catchy tune – also known as Cockles and Mussels – Molly was a young and beautiful fishmonger who sold her yield from a cart on the streets of Dublin. The song’s final verse states that after she died of a fever, she began haunting the city.

Despite her international fame, Molly Malone remains something of a mystery. While a popular figure in Irish folklore, she became an urban legend towards the end of the 20th century when claims that she was a real person who lived in the 17th century became popularised. After a Mary Malone (the name Molly derives from Mary or Margaret) was discovered to have died in Dublin on 13 June 1699, the Dublin Millennium Commission joyously proclaimed 13 June Molly Malone Day, and in 1988, it unveiled her statue.

https://www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com/who-was-molly-malone-what-we-know-from-irish-folklore-and-songs/

NOVEMBER

 

"The month of November makes me feel that life is passing more quickly. 

In an effort to slow it down, I try to fill the hours more meaningfully."

Henry Rollins 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on 31 October. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated 1 November  as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats.  Read here.

WHAT IS COP26 AND WHY IS IT HAPPENING?

 

The UK is hosting a summit that is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control.  It will bring together heads of state, climate experts and campaigners to agree coordinated action to tackle climate change.

The meeting in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.   Read here. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/51372486

https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/10/28/what-is-cop26-and-why-is-it-so-important

https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2021/11/01/does-climate-change-language-matter/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=content&utm_content=fb_post

STUDYING ROMEO AND JULIET - 4^C LINGUISTICO

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young Italian star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as exemplary  young lovers.

http://2013.playingshakespeare.org/index.html

HADRIAN'S WALL - 3^C LINGUISTICO

Hadrian’s Wall is the remains of stone fortifications built by the Roman Empire following its conquest of Britain in the second century A.D. The original structure stretched more than 70 miles across the northern English countryside from the River Tyne near the city of Newcastle and the North Sea, west to the Irish Sea. Hadrian’s Wall included a number of forts as well as a ditch designed to protect against invading troops. The remnants of a stone wall are still visible in many places. Read here. 

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-rome/hadrians-wall

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/hadrians-wall/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hadrians-Wall

THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE - 4^C LINGUISTICO

https://myblog-inplainenglish.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-elizabethan-theatre.html

https://myblog-inplainenglish.blogspot.com/2014/08/an-introduction-to-shakespearean-london.html

https://shakespeareantheaters.weebly.com/the-globe.html

https://youtu.be/b9uDK3xsLYk

THE ROMANTIC SPIRIT

The Romantic period was largely a reaction against the ideology of the Enlightenment period that dominated much of European philosophy, politics, and art from the mid-17th century until the close of the 18th century.  Whereas Enlightenment thinkers valued logic, reason, and rationality, Romantics valued emotion, passion, imagination and individuality. Chris Baldick provides the following description: “Rejecting the ordered rationality of the Enlightenment as mechanical, impersonal, and artificial, the Romantics turned to the emotional directness of personal experience and to the boundlessness of individual imagination and aspiration.” Read here.

HIDDEN FIGURES - 4^C LINGUISTICO

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gaudianohunt/2017/01/23/9-leadership-lessons-from-hidden-figures/

https://fsharetv.co/movie/hidden-figures-episode-1-tt4846340

OCTOBER

REMEMBERING 9/11 ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY

“On this day … 20 years (September 10th) ago, 246 people went to sleep in preparation for their morning flights. 2,606 people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning. 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift. 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for morning patrol. 8 paramedics went to sleep in preparation for the morning shift. None of them saw past 10:00 am Sept 11, 2001. In one single moment life may never be the same. As you live and enjoy the breaths you take today and tonight before you go to sleep in preparation for your life tomorrow, kiss the ones you love, snuggle a little tighter, and never take one second of your life for granted.”

Unknown

https://www.911memorial.org/911-faqs

THE LAST LETTER FROM YOUR LOVER

If you are in the mood for a "they don't make movies like that anymore" movie, meaning soapy melodrama with enough glamorous glow to keep you from thinking too hard, then "The Last Letter From Your Lover" might do the trick. Read here.

https://fsapi.xyz/movie/tt1893273

WORRYING ABOUT AFGHANISTAN

“When I go to Afghanistan, I realize I've been spared, due to a random genetic lottery, by being born to people who had the means to get out. Every time I go to Afghanistan I am haunted by that.”

Khaled Hosseini

SEPTEMBER

"Departing summer hath assumed

An aspect tenderly illumed,

The gentlest look of spring;

That calls from yonder leafy shade

Unfaded, yet prepared to fade,

A timely carolling."

William Wordsworth

PEAKY BLINDERS

The Peaky Blinders aren’t common criminals. They are a family - a clan. They have their own style and manners, and their own code of honor. They call themselves Peaky Blinders, a gang that is dangerous but respected. They play against the law, but that might just be the only way to survive in these cruel times.  Read here.

https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/peaky-blinders-reasons-watching/

https://ling.online/en/videos/serials/peaky-blinders/

AUGUST

“The summer night is like a perfection of thought.”                                                                                                                           Wallace Stevens

A SUITABLE BOY

BBC One's A Suitable Boy, based on Vikram Seth's bestseller, explores post-partition India's cultural norms as well as combining satire with romance.

When writing it, former Oxford English Literature student Seth was inspired by Jane Austen, particularly Elizabeth Bennet, and he portrayed similar qualities in Lata: charm, quick wit and independence (not to mention their overbearing mothers).

Here you can read the novel online.

"An immensely enjoyable novel which describes with unhurried pace the panorama of India ... Everything appears familiar to us, yet in fact it is newly minted by a master artist."

Hindustan Times

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/features/28-years-after-its-publication-five-reasons-a-suitable-boy-remains-a-must-read

READING SPEAK UP MAGAZINE

http://www.speakuponline.it/rivista/archivio/216/2021/Luglio

http://blog.speakuponline.it/

INDEPENDENCE DAY

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/july-4th

JULY

"Live in each season as it passes: breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit."

Henry David Thoreau