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

Jaden Wolfiez Ashman, the Teenage Gamer Who Became a Millionaire

Jaden Wolfiez Ashman is a 15-year-old gamer from Essex who won $1,000.000 playing the Fortnite World Cup Finals.  He promised to buy his mum a house, and one year later he has fulfilled his promise.  The BBC Newsbeat video on this link tells us the story.  

Wolfiez talks with a teenager's working-class intonation and he uses colloquial words, which makes it a bit more difficult to understand him despite the subtitles, so this video is suitable for C2 students.  You will come across new words like: "e-sport, chill, quid, set-up, too fancy, step, mortgage, to frame, logo, to be plastered, to take pressure off me, childminder, living day-to-day, you are clock watching, to moan, to strive to do something".

If you want to watch an interview to Wolfiez and his mum one year before when he had just won all that money, you can click below on this "Good Morning Britain" video on ITV , which has subtitles and it is also suitable for C2 students because of their accent:

Abelone Kelley August 03, 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

Sam Giambalvo, a Nurse and a Moving Embrace at the 7:00 Clap

This is a "human interest" story from Humankind, a USA Today video channel on YouTube and Facebook that features "uplifting stories about kindness, triumphs and special relationships". 

Sam Giambalvo is a travelling nurse who tells an emotional story at the 7:00 clap back in June 2020. She speaks fast, standard American English, but there are subtitles, which can be very helpful. You will hear lots of expressions related to feelings, for example: sirens, applause, honoring, frontline workers, to pass away, ER, to follow your feelings, comforting, I lost it, let me be upset, a split second, to get me through the shift, to give a hug, to look forward to something, a terrace, a storey, to hold a sign, to wave for you, to point at you, he fist pumps, he'll blow kisses, sirens wailing, joyous, appreciation, to sprint out there, to show up, God is blessing us, break, upbeat music.

 

This video can be recommended to C1 students (with the subtitles).

Abelone Kelley July 26, 2020 0

Morgan Bullock, an African American, Irish Dancer

Morgan Bullock is a 20-year-old African American from Richmond, Virginia, who uploaded an Irish dance version of Beyoncé's "The Savage Remix" on Tik Tok, which went viral. Many people loved her artistic performance, but there were some who accused her of "cultural misappropriation".  If you want to find out the end of the story you can click on the following BBC link to watch a 4:15 video of the story with subtitles, which could be accessible to B2 students: bbc.in/30p2Y6w

But if your level of English is higher, you can try the full BBC video report below, which is 10:51, and has no subtitles

The video above is more suitable for C1 or C2 students, but I have taken rough notes of some salient words on this worksheet, which can be used as a viewing guide in class or as homework, for those students who might often get lost in the long flow of speech.  There is also a simple lesson plan to use this video with C1 students in class. 

Finally, if you want some more, you can read the RTÉ (Radio Telefis Éireann, Irish TV) article on this link, with the 0:12 Tik Tok video that went viral.

Abelone Kelley July 21, 2020 0

100,000 Mink to be Culled in Aragon

The BBC reports that 100,000 mink are going to be culled in a farm in Puebla de Valverde (Teruel) because they have been infected with coronavirus, after Joaquín Olona, agriculture minister for the Aragon region, announced the decision yesterday.  The outbreak was discovered back in May, when the wife of a farm worker was infected with the virus.  It is not clear, though, if transmission from animals to humans and viceversa is possible.  Similar cases have been found in the Netherlands and Denmark, major producers of mink for their fur. Click here if you want more details of the story.

This report is suitable for B2 students.  You will find interesting words and expressions in context like mink, to be culled, an outbreak, to contract the virus, to test positive, to be bred for their fur, hotspots, to stress [an idea], unwittingly, an unsubstantiated theory, to pass on a disease, to be slaughtered.

Abelone Kelley July 17, 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