Language Enhancement October 19, 2012 1.Warm-up: Some World Geography – 5 mins. 2.Pronunciation,...

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Language EnhancementOctober 19, 2012

1. Warm-up: Some World Geography – 5 mins.

2. Pronunciation, jazz chant – 10 mins.

3. American Political Culture: Red States and Blue States – 30 mins.

4. Video Discussion: 2008 US Election – Obama Ad “One Voice” – 35 mins.

5. Homework assignment – 10 minutes

Some World GeographyWhat language do they speak in…

1. Germany 2. Israel 3. Brazil 4. Thailand 5. India6. Egypt 7. Italy 8. Russia 9. Turkey10. Pakistan

a) Urdu b) Turkish c) Thai d) Russian e) Portuguesef) Italian g) Hindi h) Hebrew i) Germanj) Arabic

Some World GeographyWhat language do they speak in…

i) Germanh) Hebrewe) Portuguesec) Thaig) Hindij) Arabicf) Italiand) Russianb) Turkisha) Urdu

Some World GeographyWhat do you call a person from…

11. Norway 12. Switzerland 13. Spain 14. Sweden 15. Vietnam

Some World GeographyWhat do you call a person from…

1. Germany German2. Israel Israeli3. Brazil Brazilian 4. Thailand Thai5. India Indian6. Egypt Egyptian7. Italy Italian8. Russia Russian 9. Turkey Turk10. Pakistan Pakistani

11. Norway Norwegian12. Switzerland Swiss13. Spain Spaniard14. Sweden Swede15. Vietnam Vietnamese

Review: Pronunciation Practice

s soft th z hard thsink thinkzee theesank thank Zen thenface faith breeze breathesouse south seas seethe

1.Think both thankful and truthful thoughts on the third month.

2.Mothers and brothers breathe through their mouth and seethe through their teeth.

Review: Jazz Chant

Sally speaks Spanish, but not very well.When she tries to speak Spanish,you really can’t tellwhat language she’s speakingor trying to speak.The first time I heard her,I thought it was Greek.

Pronunciation: w and v

w vwent ventwine vinegrow grovemooing moving

Closed ear method to listen to yourself

Pronunciation: Jazz Chant

His English is wonderful.He speaks very well.His accent is perfect.You really can’t tellthat he isn’t a native of the U.S.A.There’s only one problem:he has nothing to say.

American Political and Cultural Divide? Red States and Blue States

Blue – states “won” by Obama in 2008 election Red – states “won” by McCain in 2008 election

American Presidential Election Basics

• All American citizens 18 years and over can vote in the presidential election (every 4 years) – usually only about 50% of eligible voters

Vote for president/vice-president team – multi-party system, but 2 major parties (Democratic and Republican)

Vote in state of residence (50 states in the USA) – the candidate with the most votes in the state will “win” the state.

• Each state represents a certain number of “Electoral Votes”, based on population

• If you “win” a state, you win that state’s “electoral votes”; if you win the most electoral votes, you win the election

2008:Obama – 365 electoral votes;McCain – 173 electoral votes

Red States:Republican Party“conservative”small governmentlow taxesgun rightsrural, suburbanlocal communityreligiousfree enterprisetraditional moralityanti-Communistpro-military, pro-Israel

Blue StatesDemocratic Party“liberal”strong government (health, education, welfare)urban, multi-culturalcivil liberties, democracy, abortion and gay rights mixed economy pro-environmentsocial justice, anti-racistpro-United Nations

Video Discussion:

Video: Obama 2008 Presidential election campaign advertisement - “One Voice”

• Spinmasters (1) • Negative ad peddlers (1)• Anything-goes (1)• Pundits (3)• Slice-and-dice (3)• Republicans, Democrats (3)• Little League (3)• Pledge allegiance (4)• The Stars and Stripes (4)• cynicism (5)

Video Vocabulary and Phrases

• Spinmasters“spin” = to use your own (often misleading)

perspective to interpret or understand an event

“The student’s spin on his poor exam mark was that he was improving.”

“spinmaster” – usually a public relations spokesperson for a politician

• Negative ad peddlers“Negative ad(vertisement)” – election campaign

advertising strategy that emphasizes criticism of the opponent

“Negative ad peddlers” = political staffworkers who make use of negative advertising

• Anything-goes – no limits, no self-restraint

“Some people feel that Western parenting uses an anything-goes approach.”

• Pundits = political commentators for media (newspapers, magazines, tv, radio, web)

“The tv pundits were shocked by his surprise election victory.”

• Slice-and-dice = to cut up or break apart into small pieces (an opinion, a group of people)

“His poor excuse for arriving late was sliced and diced by the teacher.”

• Little League – baseball for children and young people

• Pledge allegiance – 效忠誓词 (American Pledge of Allegiance):

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with justice and liberty for all.”

• The Stars and Stripes – the flag of the USA

• cynicism – bitter distrust or pessimism

``Having been lied to so often by politicians, the people could not hide their cynicism of the political system.

Video Discussion:

Video: Obama 2008 Presidential election campaign advertisement - “One Voice”

What are the major themes or ideas of this advertisement?

Red States:Republican Party“conservative”small governmentlow taxesgun rightsrural, suburbanlocal communityreligiousfree enterprisetraditional moralityanti-Communistpro-military, pro-Israel

Blue StatesDemocratic Party“liberal”strong government (health, education, welfare)urban, multi-culturalcivil liberties, democracy, abortion and gay rights mixed economy pro-environmentsocial justice, anti-racistpro-United Nations

“The pundits, the pundits like to slice and dice our country into Red States and Blue States, Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats, but I’ve got news for them too:

we worship an awesome God in the Blue States (religion) , and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States (civil rights). We coach Little League in the Blue States (community and traditional values), and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the Red States (tolerance and gay rights).”

One voice can change a room. And if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city. And if it can change a city, it can change a state. And if it can change a state, it can change a nation. And if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world.

Next week: Stories and History

What is the importance or significance of stories to communities and countries?

Homework for October 19, 2012

Read the video script for the music video “Yes We Can” by Will.i.am. All of the words in the song come from a speech given by Obama.

Try to identify the events or people in the song that make up parts of the American story/history (the underlined phrases and names).

(You do not need to hand this in!)

Homework for October 26, 2012

Choose a Chinese idiom, and, in your own words, explain what it means in English. Use a maximum of 200 words.

You will hand this in on November 2, 2012.

Language Enhancement October 19, 2012 1.Warm-up: Some World Geography – 5 mins. 2.Pronunciation,...

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