The following video👇 is posted here as a sample for the kind of lessons you can find on the above mentioned website. (The website is a gold mine)
👆Vocabulary Reference
Though this be madness, yet there is method in't
**Meaning
The modern version of the phrase is: there's method in his madness – or her madness, or my madness – and it means: there's a sensible reason for something that seems crazy.
**Example sentence
My mum's desk is covered in papers. There's method in her madness, though. She knows where everything is!
**Notes
We can also say there's method to his madness.
Mad means crazy, silly or stupid in British English.
In American English, mad means angry or upset.
**Extra vocabulary
rehearsal
a practice of a play for later public performance
tragedy
a terrible situation, often involving suffering or death
revenge
harm that you do to someone because they have harmed you
Informal ways to say that someone's idea or behaviour is really strange or outrageous:
You're out of your mind!
You're nuts!
You're losing it!
You're losing the plot!
Though this be madness, yet there is method in't
**Meaning
The modern version of the phrase is: there's method in his madness – or her madness, or my madness – and it means: there's a sensible reason for something that seems crazy.
**Example sentence
My mum's desk is covered in papers. There's method in her madness, though. She knows where everything is!
**Notes
We can also say there's method to his madness.
Mad means crazy, silly or stupid in British English.
In American English, mad means angry or upset.
**Extra vocabulary
rehearsal
a practice of a play for later public performance
tragedy
a terrible situation, often involving suffering or death
revenge
harm that you do to someone because they have harmed you
Informal ways to say that someone's idea or behaviour is really strange or outrageous:
You're out of your mind!
You're nuts!
You're losing it!
You're losing the plot!
Step 1: Listen
You're going to hear ☝️a genuine BBC news report from 7th June, 2016.
Before you listen, read these three summaries:
1. Will Smith and Lennox Lewis starred in a film about Muhammad Ali’s life.
2. Will Smith and Lennox Lewis will carry Muhammad Ali’s coffin at his funeral.
3. Muhammad Ali was nominated for an Oscar in 2001.
Step 2: Learn the key words and listen again
**How was that? Try listening again. Here are three definitions of key vocabulary items which may help you.
heavyweight
a weight in boxing, typically the heaviest category
nomination
(here) the act of choosing someone as a candidate to receive an award
pallbearers
people who help to carry the coffin at a funeral
You're going to hear ☝️a genuine BBC news report from 7th June, 2016.
Before you listen, read these three summaries:
1. Will Smith and Lennox Lewis starred in a film about Muhammad Ali’s life.
2. Will Smith and Lennox Lewis will carry Muhammad Ali’s coffin at his funeral.
3. Muhammad Ali was nominated for an Oscar in 2001.
Step 2: Learn the key words and listen again
**How was that? Try listening again. Here are three definitions of key vocabulary items which may help you.
heavyweight
a weight in boxing, typically the heaviest category
nomination
(here) the act of choosing someone as a candidate to receive an award
pallbearers
people who help to carry the coffin at a funeral
Love is also in the air at Will's house in this 👆episode! As you watch the video, decide who is in love and who isn't. The answer is below - no looking!
👆Vocabulary Reference
**Wild-goose chase
**Meaning
In modern English, a wild-goose chase isn't about horses, or geese: it describes a situation where you foolishly chase after something that is impossible to get - or doesn't exist at all.
**Example sentence
We looked for the restaurant for hours, but it was a wild-goose chase: turned out that it closed down years ago!
___________________
**Extra vocabulary
star-crossed lovers
very unlucky lovers
to have a crush on someone
to like someone - in a romantic way
unrequited love
when someone is in love with someone who doesn't feel the same way
a rat race
a way of modern life in which people compete for wealth and power
to have a whale of a time
to enjoy yourself very much
to be in the doghouse
to be in trouble - normally with your partner!
pigs might fly!
that will never happen!
hold your horses!
wait! Be patient!
to be on your high horse
to behave in a superior or conceited manner
get off your high horse!
stop behaving in a superior manner!
don't count your chickens...
don't make plans that depend on something good happening before you know that it will really happen
**Wild-goose chase
**Meaning
In modern English, a wild-goose chase isn't about horses, or geese: it describes a situation where you foolishly chase after something that is impossible to get - or doesn't exist at all.
**Example sentence
We looked for the restaurant for hours, but it was a wild-goose chase: turned out that it closed down years ago!
___________________
**Extra vocabulary
star-crossed lovers
very unlucky lovers
to have a crush on someone
to like someone - in a romantic way
unrequited love
when someone is in love with someone who doesn't feel the same way
a rat race
a way of modern life in which people compete for wealth and power
to have a whale of a time
to enjoy yourself very much
to be in the doghouse
to be in trouble - normally with your partner!
pigs might fly!
that will never happen!
hold your horses!
wait! Be patient!
to be on your high horse
to behave in a superior or conceited manner
get off your high horse!
stop behaving in a superior manner!
don't count your chickens...
don't make plans that depend on something good happening before you know that it will really happen
Upper Intermediate
Love is also in the air at Will's house in this 👆episode! As you watch the video, decide who is in love and who isn't. The answer is below - no looking!
Daughter has a crush on Robert, but it doesn't look like Robert feels the same way - oh dear, it's a case of unrequited love. Will is hopefully in love with Mrs Shakespeare, but we don't learn about his love life in this video!
#jokes
Study: Americans safe from gun violence except in schools, malls, airports, cinemas, workplaces, streets and their own homes.
Study: Americans safe from gun violence except in schools, malls, airports, cinemas, workplaces, streets and their own homes.
#jokes
I ordered a leather sofa off the IKEA website last week.
They sent me a dead cow and some instructions on how to skin it.
I ordered a leather sofa off the IKEA website last week.
They sent me a dead cow and some instructions on how to skin it.
Dear class
It's midnight and the old owl has just begun work.
For learning a language the most important thing is being exposed to the language.
How can we increase our exposure to the English language?
Please sleep on that question tonight and try to list your ideas on a piece of paper 📝 and share them with the class on Saturday.
Good luck 🍀
It's midnight and the old owl has just begun work.
For learning a language the most important thing is being exposed to the language.
How can we increase our exposure to the English language?
Please sleep on that question tonight and try to list your ideas on a piece of paper 📝 and share them with the class on Saturday.
Good luck 🍀
#Shakespeare_Speaks
👆Vocabulary Reference
**What's done is done
**Meaning
People still use Shakespeare's exact phrase: what's done is done, usually to say that there's no benefit in feeling bad for a long time about past mistakes.
**Example sentence
Just explain you meant to send the email to a different Sophie - and then forget about it. What's done is done.
___________________
**Extra vocabulary
a superstition
a supernatural belief that certain things will bring good or bad luck
to get over something
to accept something that happened in the past and move on
to have your eye on someone
to admire someone in a sexual way
don't cry over spilt milk
don't waste your time worrying about small mistakes or accidents that you cannot change
let bygones be bygones
forget about disagreements that happened in the past
guilt-free
not causing any guilt
guilty pleasure
something you enjoy, but feel guilty or embarrassed about liking
to guilt-trip someone
to make someone feel bad about something they have done, so that they then do something that you want them to do
a guilty conscience
a feeling of guilt when you have done something wrong
👆Vocabulary Reference
**What's done is done
**Meaning
People still use Shakespeare's exact phrase: what's done is done, usually to say that there's no benefit in feeling bad for a long time about past mistakes.
**Example sentence
Just explain you meant to send the email to a different Sophie - and then forget about it. What's done is done.
___________________
**Extra vocabulary
a superstition
a supernatural belief that certain things will bring good or bad luck
to get over something
to accept something that happened in the past and move on
to have your eye on someone
to admire someone in a sexual way
don't cry over spilt milk
don't waste your time worrying about small mistakes or accidents that you cannot change
let bygones be bygones
forget about disagreements that happened in the past
guilt-free
not causing any guilt
guilty pleasure
something you enjoy, but feel guilty or embarrassed about liking
to guilt-trip someone
to make someone feel bad about something they have done, so that they then do something that you want them to do
a guilty conscience
a feeling of guilt when you have done something wrong