20 Best Movies of 2021

BBC Culture  publishes the list of the 20 Best Movies of 2021, which includes Almodovar's first film in English, "The Human Voice". 

In this dense article, which is full of simple and composed adjectives and adverbs you will find interesting words and expressions for C1 students like: "[a] suspenseful, action-filled [film], wiliness, the film's themes [...] resonate profoundly with social justice movements today,  to feature, damsels in distress, [a] dreamlike film, a callow knight, to behead, to stroll, to gasp, bewildering, a smart-mouthed comic sidekick, swirl, stunningly shot, to blur the boundaries between fact and fiction, to reel back, to capture [the novel's] nuance, an entrancing work of art, over-the-top entertainment, giddy,  to mess up, a spellbinding drama, endless grievances and yearnings, grief, barrage, bone-crunching violence, grip, to boast, strait-laced, brooding, creepy, sprightly, chilling, a grief-racked, a pared-down drama, a stunner, haunting, a heart-wrenching scenario, a run-down prison, griots, roaming free, to veer into myth, chatty, a heart-rending film, a visually dazzling film, the film is loosely based, from defiant pride to pleading to resilience, a glamourous vermilion gown, outrageous, an uproarious celebration, a piquant warning, subtlety". 

If you prefer to hear the flow of oral English, you can listen to NPR's list of the 10 Best Movies of 2021 which includes Almodovar's "Parallel Mothers". The audio comes with a script, which can be helpful for C1 students. 

Abelone Kelley January 06, 2022 0

Abdulrazak Gurnah Wins the Nobel Prize for Literature

Novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first black African to win the prize for almost two decades.  

He was born in Zanzibar (Tanzania) but he migrated as a teenager to the UK, escaping from ethnic persecution and eventually became a professor of Post-colonial Literatures at the University of Kent in Canterbury. His novels talk about the experience of colonialism, refugees, migration and individual dignity. In this three minute interview NPR's culture reporter Neda Ulabyis talks about his life and works. You will come across interesting words like: shortlisted, fate, to flee, civil unrest, scholarly work, to be batted around, to track, marquee names, overdue, sprawling, to reconcile cultural chasms with their dreams, a clip, linen, a chubby face, uprooted [people].

Below, you can also watch a 6 minute BBC interview to Mr. Gurnah himself after he learnt he had won the Nobel Prize, which can be heard with subtitles. Both recordings are suitable for C1 students and above.

You can also listen to a lecture by Professor Gurnah about Indian Ocean Journeys on this link (15:07).

Abelone Kelley October 10, 2021 0

Migrants in the Canary Islands

The radio programme "All Things Considered", has recently reported about the African migrants that are temporarily being sheltered in hotels in the Canary Islands.  Here you can find a link to the audio (3':42") and the transcript on NPR's webpage. 

And on this link, you can download a lesson plan which includes a listening comprehension exercise, the key and some questions for discussion which can be used as oral exam practice for a monologue or an interaction at C1 level.

The vocabulary is not particularly difficult, some of the words you will come across are: pandemic, to halt [global travel], to host, a wave [of visitors], a surge, packed with [tourists], the occupancy, to be down to [COVID restrictions], to soak up [the sun], asylum seekers, [to play] draughts, apprehensive, to flee [conflict], risky, to starve, to scrape a living, the mainland, to bounce back.

Abelone Kelley March 21, 2021 0

Women's Struggle Around the World

On International Women's Day, Rappler, publishes the video "In Contested Cybercrime Laws, Activists and Women Are in Danger" (6':49") about the repression of women's activism around the world.  Authoritarian regimes and dictatorships have passed cybercrime laws that punish feminist activists and other dissidents with imprisonment like Loujain-Al-Hathloul in Saudi Arabia, but also in other parts of Asia, like Myanmar, Thailand, Fiji, or the Philippines, where María Ressa, the CEO of Rappler and winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Peace, has been accused of "ciber libel" and has been jailed for writing critical articles against President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal anti-drug policies. At the end of the video, three women activists leave a final message: Momoko Nojo (Japan), Marine Maiorano Delmas (France) and Frida Guerrero (Mexico). 

This video with subtitles contains a lot of legal vocabulary, but the subtitles can allow even B2 students to follow it.  In the video you will find less frequent words to enrichen your vocabulary like: released [from prison], to be jailed, to fast-track, the lifting of prohibition, the male guardianship system, counter-terrorism law, [sexually] assaulted, a travel ban, vague [laws], dissent, a bill, a military takeover, [a law] to be in place, to stop [the state] from intervening, impinging on [public order], online abuse, a Trojan horse, uncanny [similar provisions], to engage in acts, cyber libel, a conviction, [an act] hotly contested, rendered, a tradeoff, chilling, most targeted groups [for harassment and attacks], [cases] recorded, perpetrated, intimidation, oftentimes, to defame, to rape, outspoken [women], submissive, domesticated, hate speech, sexist remarks, utilized, to assassinate their characters, divergent tactics, crackdowns.

If you are interested in the topic, you can read the article Women in South Asia: Hostile Encounters, published by Dawn (Pakistan), and International Women's Day: Plight and  Right of Nigeria Women, published by Vanguardngr.com (Nigeria). You can also listen to this 36 minute NPR radio interview where, María Resa talks to Terry Gross in Fresh Air about the crackdown on the press in the Philippines, a long interview with a script for C1 students and above.

Abelone Kelley March 08, 2021 0

Genevieve Bell, a Leader to the Future of Artificial Intelligence

Professor Genevieve Bell is a cultural anthropologist, a technologist and a futurist. She is the head of the 3A Institute (3Ai), at the Australian National University, where she is building a new branch of engineering to explore the impact and the management of artificial intelligence, data and technology on human behaviour. She previously worked for 20 years at Silicon Valley, leading a team of 100 scientists at Intel, as The New York Times reported in 2014. 

Genevieve Bell has recently presented the line of research in the 3Ai, which brings together experts in the fields of culture, technology and the environment, with the TED Talk below, entitled "6 Big Ethical Questions About the Future of AI". In this 14':48" video with subtitles, professor Bell speaks with a vey clear, educated, Australian accent and she uses academic words which might be transparent to a Spanish learner, but the cultural and engineering concepts she explains make the talk suitable for C1 students and above. I would like to thank my former student May L. for sharing this video with us.

Some of the words you can find in the video are: algorithm, to make sense of [something], AI, system.level scale, mechanization, automation, digitization, deceptively, sustainably, to research into existence, to theorize into existence, critical thinkers, critical doers, collaboratively, to frame the questions, to decolonize our imagination, work in progress, a glimpse, to gather, [fish] traps, fish holding pens, remarkable, an inspiration, meaningful, to sustain [systems], [our] legacy, a sense of purpose, a [clear] framework, an approach [of problem solving], question framing, to open up, challenges, autonomy, agency, assurance, interfaces, indicators, intent, to wander [down the street], controls, limits, a keyslot, to override [the system], trust, liablility, explicability, manageability, policy, regulation, the electrical grid, productivity, efficiency, sustainable, to articulate [a conversation], decommission, a [new] path, to draw the boundaries, to convene, a banner, cybernetics, a holistic [system], to reclaim, to accommodate, a physicist, a heady mix, expertise, diverse, to launch, a cohort [of graduates], to range, backgrounds, committed, a lone [inventor], a shared sense of purpose, owners, ceded, sacred, to pay my respects to, to dwell on [what they mean], a protracted [period of time].

If you are interested in AI and education you can listen to this podcast which includes a conversation with Professor Genevieve Bell and Dr. Amy McLennan, a research fellow at the 3Ai Institute from the New South Wales Department of Education. You can use the transcript, if you do not understand parts of the conversation.

Abelone Kelley March 01, 2021 0

"I Have a Dream" & the American Civil Rights Movement

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the USA which is observed on the third Monday of January (the 18th of the current month in 2021), as Dr. King's birthday was on January 15th. His speech, "I Have a Dream" has inspired several generations of civil rights activists to fight peacefully but unyieldlingly for justice and against any kind of discrimination. American Rhetoric.com ranks "I Have a Dream" as number one in the list of the most influential speeches in the USA, it is powerful, moving, rich in literary and biblical references and very rhythmical -a well-crafted mixture of political speech and Baptist sermon.  You can also watch the whole speech on the YouTube video below. 

The speech needs a certain historical introduction, as it contains numerous references to the struggle against segregation laws in the 1950's and 60's, which students will problably miss otherwise. This lesson plan for a two-hour C1 class includes some reading, speaking and vocabulary tasks (1h 30'), based on extracts from the Wikipedia's page on the Civil Rights Movement, with a slide presentation to illustrate the major events of the movement and a clip from Bob Dylan's song "The Death of Emmett Till", which is mentioned in the Wikipedia texts. The second part of the class is a  simple listening and reading task with a fill-in-the gap exercise on the transcipt of Dr. King's speech "I Have a Dream" (20'- 25'). The online file includes another document with further examples of Jim Crow laws. The lesson is hard at times but hopeful.

The text contains a lof of legal terms in American English.  Some of the less frequent vocabulary students will come across is the following: facilities, [a court] to rule, literacy, to file a suit, a plaintiff, to overturn a decision/ a court ruling, a melting pot, to flirt, to dispose of, casket, to rally support, to acquit of a crime, double jeopardy, outrage, to spark, a standoff, a [lunch] counter, to pledge, bail, a restroom, to flee, to cram, turmoil, a stance, to enforce [a law], to skip school, restraint, upheaval, to gather, to fulfill [a requirement].

If you want further information on the March on Washington you can watch this Time Magazine short documentary (6':05") or just browse on Google or YouTube.  The rally ended with some memorable musical performances by Joan Baez, The Freedom Singers, Peter, Paul & Mary, Mahalia Jackson, Bob Dylan, Odetta, or the Eva Jessye Choir, which are worth watching.

Abelone Kelley January 09, 2021 0

Antonio Banderas on "Pain & Glory" and Chutzpah

Antonio Banderas, talks to Terry Gross on Fresh Air about his latest movie with Pedro Almodóvar, "Pain & Glory", which earned him a "Best Actor Award" in the Cannes Film Festival and a nomitation to the Oscars, and about his acting career both in Spain and in Hollywood.  In addition, he explains what the contracultural movement, "La Movida" meant in 1980s Spain, when a whole country regained control of its own future and started enjoying public and private freedoms that had been alien during the dictatorship, and finally, he talks about his Soho Theatre in Malaga. During the interview, Antonio Banderas talks very openly about his experience as a learner of English, who started an acting career in Hollywood, with a very basic level of English and tons of chutzpah, and about the challenge of doing radio interviews in English.

This 37 minute long interview can be accessible to B2 students, as long as they have the support of the transcript, but it could be heard by higher level leaners while commuting, walking or doing housework. The interview might prove extremely interesting for examiners of English, as a genuine example of interlanguage from a bilingual Spanish speaker of English, who has a good command of his second language in terms of oral fluency, vocabulary range and an ability to explain complex ideas in detail and with touches of humour, but who still shows traces of L1 interference in some aspects of phonetics, word order and even in verb tenses.

In the vocabulary, you will find, among other words, quite a few examples of cinema and medical jargon, like screenwriter, ulcers, reflux, to star [in a film], rehearsals, the shooting [of a film], to dig up [deep into memories], a falling out, to overdo, to be bigger than life, the framing, to be measured [with the actors], [colours] clash or match, [it] is unheard of, swell (American English), a warehouse, stents, to be right on, a crier, a tough guy, teary, vulnerable, laundering money, to rule [a country], restraints, the counterculture, eerie, to prove [ourselves], anathema, on the screen, a scandal, there's something wrong, to usher [a new era of freedom], trans and straight characters, a gasp, to be under the political boot, customs, to be compromised, to grow up [in Spain], chutzpah (colloquial for "nerve" or "daring"), perseverant, a movie based on a novel, to fake, to do a screen test, to learn [your lines] phonetically, the exception to the rule, to comprehend English, to be out, to reassure [somebody on something], to label [somebody], a crane, a stunt guy, a harness, to rehearse, CGI (computer-generated imagery), grenades, a conflagration, excellence.

If you prefer a shorter interview to Antonio Banderas, you can try this 7 minute report from NPR's Morning Edition, which also includes a transcript.

Abelone Kelley September 03, 2020 0

Geena Davis Talks About Gender Inequality and her Career in Hollywood

Geena Davis became a household name with the film "Thelma & Louise" back in 1991. Since then, she has had a long career in the movie industry and as an activist to denounce gender inequality in Hollywood.  In this interview, she talks to The Irish Times about The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which she launched and has successfully managed for two decades; about sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement; about being a mother in her 40's and about her career in general. 

The interview is long and the language includes some colloquial, American slang, so it is suitable for C1 students. You will surely find new words and expressions like: Hot dog!, harassment, prejudice, a sweatsuit, athleisure, a bra, knickers, snappy, personable, pals, cosy, lockdown, a homebody, downtime, to snuggle, to wipe, to scrub, to account for, to make up the top 100 grossing films, far-fetched, endeavour, to focus on, to launch, a toddler, her jaw dropped to the floor, gender bias, a dwarf, to gather data, mainstream industry, misogynistic, ennui, in the wake of [#MeToo], to wash away, to retrench, to read up on [a topic], pluckiness, to be let down, a slash, a hit, to go by, a lap, an audition, a [film] set, to fall off the cliff, blithely, femalecentric, tippy-top, high profile, a cameo appearance, a trailer, a showgirl, an outfit, rhinestones, high-powered women, onscreen, lingerie, to start out, to bat a question away, to land a role [or a job], a flop, shattered, to starve, to gasp, to live up to your expectations, to shrink, to vanish.

If you want to listen to Geena Davis's voice, you can listen to this 27 minute, Fresh Air interview to herself and to director Maria Giese, where Geena Davis talks, about her acting career, her Institue on Gender in Media and gender inequality in Hollywood. This is radio interview, which was originally broadcast on NPR in 2019, covers some of  the very same topics as the The Irish Times article above, but it is recommeded for C2 students, even with the help of the script. 

Abelone Kelley August 10, 2020 0

Padma Lakshmi Hosts and Produces "Taste the Nation" and "Top Chef"

Padma Lakshmi is an international model, the host and executive producer of the TV show "Top Chef" in USA, and now she is the host of the new food and travel programme, "Taste the Nation" on Hulu, a leading Disney video service, where she visits chefs in immigrant communities who have contributed to the American culinary heritage.

Ms. Lakshmi talks to Terry Gross on Fresh Air (NPR) about her childhood as an immigrant from India in the USA; the cooking tradition she learnt from and how her mother transformed it to create new dishes by mixing ingredients from other cuisines; her first steps into the modelling world in Madrid and in Italy; a car accident she had; the sexual abuse she suffered twice in her life; her awareness-raising work as co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America and about her family in India.

The interview lasts 41 minutes, so it can be used by C2 students and experts as background listening while you are doing something else, like walking, gardening or ironing. There is a full script which helps to pick up unintelligible words, or to do a reading and listening exercise with C1 students.  You can also find a text that summirizes the highlights of the interview.

The interview contains many new words, including cooking ingredients: to acknowledge, cages, backbone, to pick up, to leave off, to be vilified, insight, a diner, to get heckled, [to sneak] snuck snuck, to take somebody to task, a rocking chair, dosa, lentil, crepe, batter, upma, sauteed, sooji, rava, couscous, quinoa, to streamline, carnivorousness, pepperoni, baloney, cold cuts, squeamish, tripe, offal, brewers, to be spotted, audition, legit, booker, mortified, a rocky start, outsider, appeal, scar, to dawn on me, cachet, S & M, pose, to squander, knickers, stockinged, cleavage, duster jacket, keloid, whole-hog, grunge, billboards, self-loathing, to admonish, to rear-end, embankment, jaws of life, windshield, ribs, home-bound, penance, secular, to have a career in [food], a major in theatre, to pay off, collage loans, premiere, cookbook, a spiral notebook, to jot down, splash, ploy, freak, compound, a knitted blanket, a crocheted blanket, to sling slung slung, a platter, gosh, to dress up, guilt, to make waves, sexually assaulted, op-ed, to be challenged [in court], unwillingness, it weighed on me, date rape, taxing, to rip off, to cherish, chronic pain, to crumple in bed, a heating pad, the period, to handle, to dispel, to wreak havoc, lining, leftover tissue, memoir, to instil in [somebody], cuddly, siblings, hem, sari, a well-read person, verbatim.

Abelone Kelley July 31, 2020 0

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen published a memoir in 2016, entitled "Born to Run", after his greatest hit, where he reveals some hidden aspects of his life and personality, so, he was interviewed by Terry Gross, to present his book on NPR's Fresh Air radio programme.  The listening is long, 22 minutes, so, it is problably very suitable for "extensive listening", that is, to listen to while you are doing something else, like walking, driving, or ironing, but you can always go the the script, if you are lost or if you want to check a word that you didn't pick up.

I have used this interview as listening homework with my B2 students, although it is problably more suitable for C1 students.  I include some notes about how we discussed the interview in class and the cultural information I had to give my students to help them understand the context of the book, the musician and the journalist. Here are my notes on a link to Google Drive.

Abelone Kelley July 12, 2020 0

Ennio Morricone, the Italian Composer Who Wrote the Soundtrack of the Far-West

Ennio Morricone has died at the age of 91 in Rome. He was the composer of the score of  more than 500 films, including successful "spaghetti westerns" like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "Once Upon a Time in the West" with director Sergio Leone and other box office hits like "Cinema Paradiso", "The Mission" or Brian de Palma's "The Untouchables".  He won an honorary Oscar in 2007, and an outright one for Quentin Tarantino's film "The Hateful Eight" in 2015.  He was recently awarded the 2020 Princess of Asturias Prize for the Arts by the Spanish Crown.

He managed to create an atmosphere of mystery, toughness and humour by orchestrating music based on "howls, gunshots and groans".  Rose Friedman, writing an appreciation for NPR, says that in Western movies, where dialogue was minimal, "music did the talking". Here you can listen to a 4-minute radio report with its script, and a written version of the story. Both can be accessible to B2 students.

The vocabulary level of the reports is challenging, though, and you will find words like "sneaky tricks,  whistles, animal calls, creaks, gunshots, groans, howls, hip, a raucous sound, avant-garde, to be off-and-running, choirmaster, the score, to pay off, to win a prize".

Abelone Kelley July 07, 2020 0

"Shirley" Starring Elisabeth Moss

Elisabeth Moss plays the role of writer Shirley Jackson in the movie Shirley, which began to stream on virtual cinema platforms on June 5th.  Here you can read and listen to a 7 minute review of the film by Los Angeles Times critic Justin Chang, broadcast on NPR's Fresh Air. Film reviews are usually very rich in language, and when they are broadcast on the radio, they are particularly difficult to understand for the density of information, as they are usually literary essays read out loud, so both the audio and the text are classified as C2.  You will come across words like bond, fraught, glimpse, to chime, to deserve, script, loosely, insight, bout, to pursue, chore, vicious, to thrive, to get back on track, to root, wrinkle, muse, stand-in, layers, dizzyingly, jagged, close-up, to swerve, handheld, score, to pulse, to grapple with, conundrums, to blur, uncannily, to excel at, exertion, to tease out, odd, tenderness, prickly, to awe, to bind, to cheat on somebody, to endure to chafe against something, and snobbery. 

You can also do a listening comprehension exercise based on the interview that Elisabeth Moss gave to NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday when she was promoting her film The One I Love.  The pace of this 5 minute, 7 sec radio interview is fast, but natural, and the language is rather colloquial, you will find words like time-shifting, impressive, rom-com, widespread, to set up, plot, crossroads, to send off, retreat, to reset, hijinks (high jinks), to ensure, to end up doing something, boundaries, shooting, breakneck, naive, calculating, gullible, weird, show runner, roles, to get something down, to work on something.  In the file you will find a recording of the interview, the script, a multiple-choice listening task and the key.  You will also find a lesson plan for both the film review above and this radio interview. The listening and speaking task has been designed for C1 students.

If you still want to listen on, you can click here to find a 47 minute long interview to Elisabeth Moss from NPR's Bullseye with Jesse Thorn.  As there is no script, this interview is recommended for C2 students or for experts.

Abelone Kelley June 11, 2020 0