English With Luke

This is a great blog post on the differences between Huxley and Orwell's dystopic visions.  It's in comic form so easy to follow.  https://biblioklept.org/2013/06/08/huxley-vs-orwell-the-webcomic-2/

DO Use formal language Talk about your opinion Think BEFORE you start writing about 2 or 3 main ideas you want to explain. Think about your word count - how many words will each section have? Use paragraphs - an introduction, a conclusion and 1 paragraph for each main idea Use a capital letter to start a sentence and a full stop to end it Link each sentence in a paragraph to the one before using connectors like:     On the other hand     As a result of this     Firstly, Secondly, Finally Conclude with a meaningful statement of your opinion or the solution to a problem. DON'T Use contractions (don't write "don't", write "do not") Use lists with 'etc....' at the end Copy directly from the internet Use Google Translator Write your essay in Italian and translate it into English. Speak directly to the reader (it's better to avoid saying "you"). Say "boys" when you mean young people who are male and femal...

Can You Recognise Fake or Misleading News? Look at these stories and decide whether they are real, fake or misleading.  Talk about which questions you would want to ask to find out more.  How would you check whether the news story is true? #1 Not allowing citizens to own guns leads to a lower murder rate. #2 A man rode a motorbike across Lake Como #3 A woman in America was sentenced to 18 months in prison for using someone else's urine in a urine test (the urine contained drugs) #4 A Muslim woman walked indifferently past an injured man on London Bridge after a terrorist attack #5 The same girl was photographed crying immediately after 3 different massacres in 3 different cities. #6 Adolf Hitler was named as Time Magazine's "Man of The Year" in 1938

One of the most important things that you can do is to understand what weak forms are and how they are used.  This will have a big impact on your speaking but also on on your listening comprehension.  See the video below.

Sometimes it can be fun to take a story idea and see how you would continue it. Here are some ideas: Story idea #1 Fourteen years ago, Stan cheated on his brand-new bride of four months. It was just a one-afternoon fling, a reaction to a silly fight he can no longer remember, and he didn't think it was important.   Now, he’s general manager for a profitable beer company; his wife and four kids are well-provided-for, with college funds and all the amenities they could desire. Stan’s in line for a big promotion, if he can keep up his reputation… until  she   comes in for a job interview. Stan recognizes Delilah Bond, but she doesn’t seem to recognize him. Slightly shaken, he plays dumb, treats her with complete professional cool, and goes about his day.  The next night, his youngest daughter starts to tell him about her new music teacher, Ms. Bond… who matches the description of Stan’s mistake from fourteen years ago. He tries to ignore this until he sees ...

Past Perfect Simple verb tense John is the man on the right, he has had a really bad travel experience and his boss is not happy! Try to guess the things that happened to him from these clues: MISS   PLANE LATE AIRPORT PHONE TOILET LATE HOTEL MISS LAST BUS AT NIGHT FEEL SICK EAT A BAD KEBAB LOSE PASSPORT FALL RIVER Let's imagine the conversation he has with his boss: BOSS:   So, John why do you look and smell so terrible?  This is unacceptable! JOHN:   Well, I missed my plane. BOSS:    And why did you miss your plane? JOHN:   Because I'd arrived late at the airport. BOSS:  And why didn't you phone me from the airport to say that you would be late? JOHN:  Because I'd dropped my phone into the toilet. We use the PAST SIMPLE to talk about an event in the past and we use the PAST PERFECT (SIMPLE)  to talk about an event that happened before the first event. In the example above, fir...

Here is a useful video with some intereting points about Jonathan Swift's satire "Gulliver's Travels". Here is a page with some points about themes including "Might versus Right", "The Individual Versus Society" and "The Limits of Human Understanding" Themes from Gulliver's Travels (Spark Notes) Here are some notes on the symbolic meaning behind some of the creatures that Gulliver meets including Lilliputians, Brobdingnagians, Laputans and of course, Houyhnhnms (and Yahoos). Symbols in Gulliver's Travels (Spark Notes)

Questions to discuss: 1  Why do some teenagers binge drink? 2  Why do some teenagers try drugs? 3 Is it worse to get drunk or smoke marijuana?  Why? 4  Do binge drinking and using drugs affect students’ academic results? 5  Do you think that British or American teenagers binge drink more than Italian ones?      Why do you think that is? 6  If you had children at what age would you let them try alcohol? 7  If you had children, would you ever allow them to smoke marijuana? 8 Do you think that high schools should test students for drug use?

Here is a report from a few years ago about British teenagers. Is the situation different in your town? How is it different? In your opinion, what are the reasons for the difference? Two separate surveys suggest that Britain's teenagers are amongst the heaviest drug-users and drinkers in Europe. The British government has introduced a number of measures to tackle the use and supply of drugs, particularly among young people. The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs interviewed 15 and 16-year olds in 35 countries. 26% of boys and 29% of girls in the UK had indulged in binge drinking at least three times in the previous month. For the purpose of the study, binge drinking was classed as having more than five alcoholic drinks in a row. In the same survey, 42% of boys and 35% of girls admitted they had tried illegal drugs at least once. According to another survey, by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction , two ...

This question comes up a lot.  Lots of English language learners feel that "British English" is the "authentic" or "original" version of English and that the "British Accent" is the best way to speak English. Most people are familiar with "Received Pronunciation" - this is the kind of accent that you might have heard on recordings when you are learning English or on the BBC when listening to or watching the news.  For many years, it was considered to the sign of a good education and broadcasters like the BBC only used journalists with this accent.  You can watch the video below to find out some more about Received Pronunciation: Of course, Received Pronunciation is just one of the big family of British accents.  Think of bands like the Arctic Monkeys (from Sheffield), the Beatles (from Liverpool), Oasis (Manchester), none of whom use Received Pronunciation.    Here are some videos giving examples of some other accents you can fin...

Here's a quick summary giving you the plot's main points: Got that? Now usually adaptations of Shakespeare can be a little boooooring...  For example, when I was at school, we were forced to watch this. Fortunately, while I was still relatively young, an Australian by the name of Baz Luhrmann (who later also did the Great Gatsby, Australia and Moulin Rouge) did a slightly more interesting version, here's the prologue: Two households, both alike in dignity (In fair Verona, where we lay our scene), From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-marked love And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove, Is...