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".
Pedro Almodóvar released a short (30') film in English, "The Human Voice" in 2020 which was acclaimed by critics all over the world. It is a free and personal adaptation of Jean Cocteau's classic "La Voix Humaine", where a barroque Almodóvar is interested in showing the boundaries of artifice and the connection between cinema and theatre, deceit and sincerity, lies and truth.
The movie is, basically, a monologue, where Scottish actress Tilda Swinton, in a riveting performance, displays her vocal versatility to disclose all the feelings of a woman who has been abandoned by her ex-lover and receives a last telephone call to sort out the last mundane details of their separation: she pretends to be cool and casual at the beginning of the call, until she can't stand her own lies any longer, loses controls and admits to her ex-lover -who is a "dweeb", in Tilda's words, ("an idiot", in Spanish "un memo, un baboso"), that she is just a nervous wreck.
The drama of the monologue is set in the unique atmosphere of Almodóvar's films which is created by the music of Alberto Iglesias and the photography of José Luis Alcaine, the paintings by Artemisia Gentileschi, Vargas, Man Ray, Isabel Quintanilla, Giorgio de Chirico and all the loud colours, objects, circles, shapes and squares of Almodóvar's personal universe.
Below you can watch a facetime interview to Pedro Almodóvar and Tilda Swinton when they presented the film in the the New York Film Festival at the Lincoln Centre in September 2020. The video is very long (1:04:19), but it is interesting to listen to Almodóvar's English, although at some points he turns to Spanish to be translated by a consecutive interpreter (for example when he starts talking about the sets and the scenery of the film at 29:01 and continues talking about the lockdown during the pandemic).
A highlight of the interview is Tilda Swinton's long answer to the question about her character who is in a world that is a mixture of a theatre stage and a cinema set (36:00- 42:11). She explains that the telephone helps her character to create a fabrication of reality, a performance to deceive her ex-lover on the phone, in contrast to the first minutes of Almodóvar's film, where she is silent and we can see her true feelings. Although you can watch the video with subtitles, Tilda Swinton's complex and metaphorical answers are recommended for C1 students and above, whereas Almodóvar's answers in English can be easily understood by B2 students.
In the six minutes of Tilda Swinson's answer you can notice her richness of expression, for example: deception, to dissemble, the predicament, painful, a dignified goodbye, to fall apart, a fabrication, inarticulacy, articulacy, a pose, utterances, the script, an axe, to smash [a glass], frankly, it's overacting, to overdo something, incredibly moving, a trope, a cliche, a soap opera, a set, to fake [it], to throw open your heart, to spill your guts, it's not good taste, a massive meltdown, a dweeb, a twist and turn, to twiddle with [something], vulnerability, fakery.
"The Human Voice" can be watched on Movistar TV beginning on September 3rd, 2021. Recently, Almodovar presented "Parallel Mothers", his latest film, at the Venice Film Festival.
The 275th anniversary of Goya's birth has become an opportunity to bring the underpopulated county of Campo de Belchite and the village of Fuendetodos back to the map.
The Guardian recently reported on the "Territorio Goya" project, which aims to exploit the 200th anniversary of Goya's Black Paintings to "stem the decline of a region where there are just 4.8 inhabitants per square kilometre". In this article, which is suitable for C1 students and above, you can come across words like: to summon, to stem [the decline], to devour, a witches's sabbath, to drown, a printmaker, [to be] appalled, slumber, to cling [to the map], a curator, a resident, [annual] income, a profound pull, to empower, the plight [of Campo de Belchite], the hollowed [Spain], a demographic challenge, [to be] squeezed, to have a project underway, to mark [the 275th anniversary], demolished, [to be] stripped out, canvas, a mock-up [image], to commission, to reintepret, the reworked [paintings], an installation, a casualty, boom-and-bust [cycle], the [perfect] venue, artworks, [to be] displayed, to make the pilgrimage, [the project] is about [ensuring that...], to receive [his] dues, to undertake [a commission], Follies [series], rough [landscape], to be keenly aware of, a lighthouse.
Finally, you can also watch this 20':24" video below, which is a virtual tour of the exhibition with subtitles in Spanish, so, it can be accessible to C1 students and above. The video is a fantastic visual lesson on Goya's artistic production by the curator of the exhibition, Mark MacDonald.
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.
Love is the driving force that moves our hearts and inspires our mind. There are thousands of songs and poems that talk about the miriad of emotions love can arouse.
Here you can find a short text about heartbreak and hope, written by Teresa M., who won one of the awards in the 2021 Valentine Competition at the E.O.I. nº 1, Zaragoza, and below you can find two very different love songs: the video "Break My Heart" by Dua Lipa released in 2020 and a 1960 hit by Etta James, "A Sunday Kind of Love".
The vocabulary is quite easy and the songs can be heard with subtitles, so this post is suitable for B1 students and above. The less frequent words you will come across are: skylight, a letdown, to grip [my heart], relief, serenity, to get it wrong, to know for sure, letting you go, love at first sight, on the square, scheming, to enfold [someone] in my arms.
I hope you can feel Cupid's arrows deep in your heart. Enjoy Valentine's Day!
IS A MATTER OF TIME
by Teresa M.
It is dark now...
I will open an skylight in my head
to let the black clouds out.
You hurt me.
You lied to me.
A deep letdown gripped my heart.
The further you go, the closer my happiness gets.
Spring is coming.
Relief, serenity.
Dua Lipa's "Break My Heart" (2020) ...
... and Etta James's "A Sunday Kind of Love" (1960).
Christmas is a commercial and religious family holiday which is celebrated in many countries around the world, including Spain and the UK. It is also a school holiday and each student always has something to say about Christmas: whether they find it exciting and uplifting, or gloomy and depressing, Christmas is always a very productive conversation topic in EFL and there are so many carols and songs that is very easy to find some music to bring to class.
This year, with the epidemic and the restrictions to social gatherings and movement, there will be much more to add to the Christmas conversations, so, Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
These are some of the less frequent words you will find in the video: pandemic, let me know, calendar, baubles, garlands, Christmas cards, on display, to stick, a Nativity scene, impressive, a figurine, to do a number two, to defecate, lottery, a total payout, community spirited, the winnings, the "Fat One", to meet up, seafood, starters, roast pig, Christmas Eve, nougant, nugget, Christmas carols, stockings, gifts, vivid memories, excitement, enthusiasm, a hangover, the Queen's speech, turkey, roast vegetables, Brussels sprouts, Christmas pudding, mince pice, brandy butter, fantastic, Christmas crackers, a snapping sound, a crown, board games, Boxing Day, alms box, extende family, New Year's Eve, grapes, to chime, a difficult challenge, to peel, to hit midnight, Auld Lang Syne, leftover [turkey], a curry, New Year's resolutions, Kings' Day, 3 Wise Men, floats, hang on a minute, to grow up, to stay [with us].
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.
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.
