So this month, July, the book we are going to read for our book of the month club is Bridget Jones's Diary. It is a very interesting and funny book and of course I am sure most of you saw the movie.
An interesting point about the book is that it has contributed a lot of new vocabulary to the English language. For example, Smug Marrieds are people who are married and think there is something wrong with you because you are not.
I think this one should be easy enough to read as it is in diary form although there could be a lot of slang. Make sure to get yourself a copy of the book. If you go to Chapters on Parnell Street they should have lots of cheap copies or try any second hand or charity book shop.
Hi. I just got a great suggestion from Jin Yeong. Today and tomorrow there seems to be a festival on in the city centre about Vikings. I think it is connected to a ship sailing. There seems to be a lot to do. Check out the webpage by clicking here.
Don't forget about the writing competition for this Monday. And we will be discussing the book on Tuesday.
The competition for the three Bridget Jones books is now closed and we have three winners.
Congratulations to the following 3 lovely students who all answered the question correctly:
VanessaJin YeongSae Kyoung
Well done. The answer was Renee Zellwegger by the way. For those of you who didn't win, sorry but you should manage to find a cheap copy of the book if you go to Chapters on Parnell Street. Next week we will have the discussion of The Curious Dog in the Night-Time on Tuesday which should be a lot of fun.
Ok, so the poll is finished. You had 3 choices for next months book of the month. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas came a close 2nd but the book that most people voted for was Bridget Jones Diary.
So we are going to have a competition. I have 3 copies of the book free to give to 3 students. All you have to do is answer the question below. Send your answer with your name and email (using the suggestion/ideas boxes at the very bottom of this page. Don't put the answer in the comments on this post!) and the first three people will get the books. Here is the question.
Who played the part of Bridget Jones in the movie?
Congratulations to Sae Kyoung for winning the writing competition for the 2nd time with her review of the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, an interesting movie about memory and that nature of reality (I think!). If you want to check out the movie I think Sae Kyoung said she would be more than happy to lend it to anyone.
Because we did a movie review this week (and because we have our book discussion next week) I thought it would be a good idea to do a book review this time. So here is the question. This type of writing is very typical in the Cambridge exams.
Write a review of a book that really impressed you. Your review should give details of the book, a short summary of the plot and why you were impressed by the book. Write 200 words.This review is due for next Monday, the 30th of June, 2008.
I have included a little review of a movie I like as I thought it might help or give you a few ideas.
There are certain ingredients which a movie must have if it is to be successful. A good cast. A well written script and a director who understands the world he is trying to present. Glengarry Glen Ross is such a movie.
Directed by James Foley in 1992 and starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris and Alec Baldwin the movie is based on a David Mamet play. The action takes place over the space of one day and concerns a group of real estate salesmen. They move between their dingey office, a sleazy bar and public payphones as they try to sell to people who don't want to buy.
The central character Shelley Levene (played by Jack Lemmon) is an aging salesman who is finding it difficult to compete with his younger colleagues. Al Pacino plays Ricky Roma, the successful salesman who the others envy, even though he is dishonest, brutal and exploits the weaknesses of his customers to persuade them to buy. At the start of the movie, in a wonderful scene, Alec Baldwin's character warns the salesmen that either they make some sales or they lose their jobs. From here the pressure on the men builds and builds.
What strikes the viewer first is the claustrophobic atmosphere of the movie. The action takes place on a rainy night and the men seem trapped, unable to escape their life and the increasing pressure, as they desperately make phone calls to uninterested customers in their office.
Another wonderful point is the acting. Each actor perfectly captures the emotions of their character and you can feel their desperation. You really feel you are watching men being destroyed by their hunger for success. Al Pacino is, as usual, dramatic and steals many scenes, but it is Jack Lemmon's quiet and subtle depiction of a man facing the end of his life, with nothing to show for it, that really captures the imagination.
This movie is not for everyone. It is dark and there is a lot of strong language. However, it is one of the few movies I could sit down and watch again and again.
Ok guys here is the writing for this Friday's competition. It is a review. It is similar to one of the writings that you could get in the CAE.
Write a review of a movie you have seen. Your review should include details about the plot, characters, actors or director and your opinion.200 words
So that is the writing for this week. I hope you enjoy it. I think it is a good chance to use some nice grammar:
Modals: Should/Must/Might (e.g. This movie should please people who enjoy straightforward action. This movie might not be everyone's cup of tea.)Passive:Be + Past Participle (e.g. This movie was directed by Steven Spielberg. It was shot in Ireland.)
If you want to see some reviews here is the Rotten Tomatoes webpage which has lots of reviews. Also you can check out the Metro and Herald on Thursdays or Fridays, I can't remember which. Plus there is the Event Guide which is free and you can find all over Dublin in coffee shops and internet cafes.
I have two suggestions. The first one is this. Do you think it would be better to have the writing competition on Monday or Friday? The second is that maybe we can put the best review up onto a webpage so other people can read it!. Let me know what you think.
I hope you are all having a great weekend. Hopefully most of you will have had the chance to go and see the festival this weekend. I went yesterday and today and it is absolutely fantastic. If you haven't had a chance, go on Sunday. It is wonderful. Here is a video of Mario, Queen of the Circus, who Michael, Rene, Jaime, Rodrigo and I watched on Friday. In my opinion he was the best act there. Enjoy!
Oh and by the way, if you went, let us know in the comments box what you thought was the best.
This weekend (June 13th, 14th and 15th) there will be a big festival in Merrion Square, from Friday to Sunday, all day. It is a competition for street performers so there will be lots of cool things to see, like jugglers, musicians, fire eaters, acrobats etc. It should be good fun, especially if the weather keeps up.
Thanks a million to those students who joined us for Once, it was great fun. I hope you enjoyed it. The IFI will be showing two more Irish films this summer, Garage and The Wind that Shakes the Barley. Make sure and let us know if you are interested in seeing either of these.
Congratulations to Sae Kyoung for winning our first writing competition with her wonderful piece on stress. Good job.
Today in class we looked at the 3rd conditional so for those people who didn't write something just think, if you had written something you could have won a prize!!
Here is the writing for this Friday, 13th of June.
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Present a written argument or case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic.The ease of international travel and the spread of various kinds of mass media all over the world have made it more possible than ever for people to know how other people live in other countries.Do the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence. Write at least 250 words.
Hi. Thanks Sae K for telling me about the comments problem. I think I've fixed it now. Let me know if there are any other problems. Thanks for all the offers for photographers. If anyone wants to bring a camera on Monday that would be cool, or even Tuesday so we can get some nice photos from the Once movie.
Here is a youtube clip I hope you enjoy. It is THE best Irish traditional group, Planxty. The video is from the 1960s. Hope you enjoy. Have a nice weekend and see you on Monday.
As you can see I have some photos on the blog. However, they're pretty old. I thought it might be a good idea to get some new photos of some of the lovely people we have in the class so if any of you have a camera and are able to teach me how to put photos on the blog then talk to Stephen.
Tuesday, 10th June, at 10:30 am we are going to go see the movie Once at the IFI. The movie was made in Ireland and is about a musician and a girl falling in love (I think, I've never seen it).
Before the movie there will be a talk about Irish film culture, so it should be really interesting. Make sure and tell Michael or Stephen that you want to go so we can keep a place for you.
Tickets are €6. Come to the school at 9:30am so we can all go together.
Every Friday we are going to have a writing competition. You will be given the subject to write about at the start of the week and then on Friday all the writings will be taken and there will be a class vote on the best one. To keep it interesting the writing assignments that I give you will be from different exams (Cambridge or IELTS) so that you will get an idea about what to expect if you choose to take these exams.
This time the writing is on the subject of stress. This writing is typical of a writing for the IELTS exam.
Present a written argument to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic. In some societies, stress is now regarded as a major problem, and it is thought that people suffer from more stress than they did in the past.However, others feel that the amount of stress people have today is exaggerated. They say that previous generations were under more pressure, but the idea of suffering from stress did not exist.Discuss both views and give your own opinion.
Because we started late this week the writing competition will be on Monday, 9th of June, so finish your writing over the weekend and have it ready for Monday.
This is the first book in our new book club. You should finish reading the book by June 24th.It is written by Mark Haddon and was published a few years ago, I think 2003. It is the story of a young boy with autism, written from his perspective.
Assignments
If you have read the book, please write a 200 word review of the book. There will be a wonderful prize for the best review.We will have a classroom discussion of the book and subjects related to the book on June 24th.
Do you know of any good concerts? Nice restaurants? Good books? Good pubs? Exhibitions? Places to visit? Ways to save money? Good movies? Want to find people to play sports with you? Ideas for improving your English
Whatever your idea is, tell us. Use the box at the bottom to contact us. Or email us. This webpage is to let you all know about things that are happening, things that might be interesting for you.
Hello! This blog is for students in English in Dublin, especially those wonderful, amazing students in Stephen's and Michael's class. Lets see if it works!
