Listening
4th Semester
13th by Ava DuVernay
We watched this documentary on Netflix during the class of English Mastery. The film explores the "intersection of race, justice and mass incarceration in the United States;" It is again fairly difficult topic with a specific vocabulary. The knowledge of the background and basic legal language is needed. Throughout the film, different people with different accents and dialects speak.
I believe this documentary is a valuable contribution since it is on a serious topic, it is not for entertainments so it makes the viewer focus. Difficult vocabulary is used together with visual aids, graphs and statistic, therefore it is very demanding.
Seeing this documentary was not as difficult as reading the two books since I was already familiar with the topic. It broadened my vocabulary and taught me how to use it in a correct context. I would highly recommend this documentary since it has big informational value in term of content and the language.
Article submitted on the 4.5.2017
Les Misérables
I have decided to watch this amazing musical since I have been already acquainted with listening to spoken words. I sought as a challenge to test my ability to comprehend spoken and sung English at once. It was more interesting with the influence of French culture and some expressions. I include this artefact to illustrate that I am trying to improve my English even outside the school and homework.
I think I did quite well, I had no problems with understanding. Moreover, I was so caught in the plot that only after watching the movie I realised I did not have to focus on the translation, I knew it by heart. It was a nice discovery. Here is my favourite song from the movie.
Article submitted on the 4.5.2017
3 semester
Sherlock
As I have stated many times previously, I watch Tv series a lot. When I get the chance, I choose the British ones, because I try to learn and adapt the British accent.
One of my favourites is Sherlock, it is an amazing Tv series, but very demanding. The whole of series is reeking of British culture, they are drinking lots of tea a speaking with their beautiful accent. Even though the English level is advanced and they are speaking very fast, I try to avoid using subtitles.
Sherlock was very difficult but enormously enjoyable to watch. The British accent is very pleasing to my ears. But I won´t pretend it was easy-peasy. I sometimes had to re-watch certain parts to be sure what they are talking about. Mostly, though, I get by easily. I rely on gestures, face expressions and I try to read the situations, which helps me a great deal when I do not understand a certain expression or vocabulary.
I enclose a trailer for the next season of Sherlock, in case you are watching the series, I do not want to spoil anything important.
Article submitted on 15.12.2016
Podcast: With No Sense Of Smell, The World Can Be A Grayer, Scarier Place
Why have I chosen this piece? There are several people sharing their opinions on phenomena called Anosmia, the absence of a sense of smell. This "interview" or conversation is interesting in many aspects. The vocabulary is advanced and of that kind, I would not encounter on daily basis. They are talking about researchers and what in a brain is causing anosmia, which is very interesting and very narrow topic. The conversation is of course held in English, it is quite fast and as I have previously mentioned, the vocabulary is demanding.
How was it? To be honest, I had to listen to it twice, maybe for the third time to be 100% sure what they are talking about and to catch al the details and medical expressions. The recording is not particularly long, so it is easier to play it again and again, and even thought it was a bit difficult, it was very interesting and I enjoyed it.
Source of the podcast: HERE
Article submitted on 26.10.2016
1 and 2 semester
Game of Thrones
I generally listen to many things, from songs to Tv series. I would like to present this one in particular because it offers a variety of accents.
This show offers a variety of accents as I have mentioned above. To illustrate my favourite ones I suggest forwarding the video to 12:13 and 15:20. In 15:20 there is a nice example of Nothern English accent.
How did I cope with the accents? It was very demanding at first. I watch this show without subtitles and sometimes I had to play it again to understand the meaning. Continuously I am getting used to a variety of different approaches to English and I believe this show has prepared me to approach foreigner speaking English in a different way. Now I know that it is important to really pay attention to the speaker´s mood and gestures, rather than just focusing on the words.
To be honest I just notice the differences i speech among other characters, I had to look up which accent is which.
Bi-literate brain
For my next listening artifact, I chose an interview which aired on PRI's The Takeaway, a public radio program that invites you to be part of the American conversation. I stumbled upon it while searching for material for my presentation. I found it here: https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-18/your-paper-brain-and-your-kindle-brain-arent-same-thing
I am not listening to any broadcast or news, and when I do it is really a sacred occasion. This interview showed me that there is nothing to be afraid of. I realized that I can understand really easily and it turned out to be really interesting. I think I will listen to these interviews more since it brought closer the everyday English.
Below is the interview itself in case the ink was not working.
Both articles submitted on 10.5.2016