Hey,

today we first gossiped a little about Tony Parker and Eva Longoria's divorce with Aurélie, the "gossip queen" who says she never ever talks about people..., and our two gossip girl and gossip boy (Quentin and Ambre)...  Here is what we said:

How to express betrayal:
"How could you do this to me?" she said / screamed / yelled / barked in a sad tone.

She must have felt so much betrayed when she learned that her boyfriend was seeing another girl / having an affair / cheating on her.

Then we continued the lesson with the study of a scene from the movie Dancer in the Dark by Lars Von Trier, featuring the singer Björk. You can watch the two extracts below: 

Extract #1

Here is what we said about it:

This scene deals with Selma who goes to Bill's home to get her money back. She explains the reasons why she needs the money. She wants to pay the doctor in the afternoon so that Gene, her son, can have surgery / undergo an operation. She doesn't want him to have the same disease. She's blind and it's a genetic problem. 

Extract #2

Here is what we said about it:

How to express consequence and goal:

* Selma has decided to pay the doctor in the afternoon, that's why she can't wait until the end of the month to get her money back.
* She has recently been fired from her job that's why she can't save up more money.
* She's blind and it would take her too much time that's why she decides not to count the money.

According to her, at the beginning of the scene, Bill doesn't intend to shoot her because he is a good friend. But he shouts in order to alert his wife and so as to scare Selma. He is lying in order not to give the money back and so as to pass for the victim.

HW: for next time, you need to learn the lesson and be prepared to talk about the two extracts.

Files: Download the worksheet that we have worked on here.

Hey,

today you took your final test about stereotypes. Here reads the assignment:

"You are discussing with a friend about going to London. But you quickly understands that he/she doesn't want to go with you. He/She has a lot a preconceived ideas about the British." Write the scene and conversation. (200 words)

Hope you were able to express interesting ideas and that you won't have made a lot of mistakes... at least not the same mistakes you did for your training exam.

Take care,

Mr Hattais.

Hey, 

today we first warmed up with a topical issue. Here is what we said about the recent event in London:

David Cameron has decided to stop funding British universities. Consequently, students have demonstrated against his measure. They protested yesterday in the streets of London. They were violent.
They smashed / destroyed shop windows. It's a topical / burning issue in the news.
David Cameron is the Prime Minister, from the Tory party (conservatives).
Education is getting more expensive (less cheap).

You can watch a video from the Reuters website, a British news agency, down here:

Then we continued speaking about the document entitled "Disunited Kingdom" and we tried to understand if there was a difference between what we said about the Royals and what they really felt. Here is what we said:

The Royals:
Most people dislike the grandeur and the ceremony effect. They like it better when the Queen smiles. But generally they're turned off by the Royals / pageantry.
However lots of people have personal affection for the Royals even if they reproach things to the Queen. For example, one of the guinea pigs says he's angry because they were not elected; it's not a republic, but a kingdom.

Voc:
(to) be impressed
I don't care about them

Watch the video here again:

HW: learn you lesson and vocabulary. Your test will take place on Friday, Nov. 19th.

Hey,

today we first warmed up with what you did during the holidays. Here are some adjectives that could qualify Quentin's Halloween party:

It was lame / boring /  crappy **

Then we continued speaking about the text from A Year in the Merde and we particularly analysed how the feelings and attitudes of the characters were expressed. Here is what we said:

Verbes de discours riches (au prétérit):

l-4 suggested
l-11 ventured
l-17 explained
l-38 retorted
l-46 confirmed

Manière d'agir:
L-8 frowned / laughed / turned to... for help (... for support)
L-27 smile
L-27 nodded
l-26 was not looking keen
l-44 was playing interpreter
l-25 were peering at me...
l-49 appealed to...
l-18 T felt as if I...
he put on a eureka smile

Autres compléments de manière: 3 possibilités de les exprimer!

- clearly
 

- in a desperate tone
- in a dishearted voice
- in a flat voice

- with a grin

HW: for tomorrow, you need to finish filling in the column "Manière d'agir". Don't forget the dialogue that you have to write for tomorrow.

Hey,

today we first warmed up with the pension reform. Here is what we said about it:

Students and workers are protesting / demonstrating / striking because of the pension reform. With the new bill / law, people must work until 62 and they cannot retire before. If they want to have a full pension, they must work until 67.

Voc:
demonstration / protest / strike
retirement (la retraite) / pension (l'argent que l'on touche à la retraite)

Then we continued the lesson about stereotypes after you filled in a vocabulary test that I have decided not to grade since it was really poor... you'll take another one very soon.

Here is what we said about the video:

• Confirmed stereotypical ideas:

- the best hockey players
- not to like Americans
- they want to be different from Americans

• Denied preconceived idea:

Canadians are said to have a redneck accent but it's not true. For example, they pronounce "about" correctly; not [abu:t]

Finally, we began to study the picture illustrating the text that we are going to talk about. Here is what we said about it:

French people are said to smoke as if everybody in France smoked. But it's not true.
French people are believed to wear a beret as though everybody wore a beret. But that's not the case for everyone. 

HW: you need to complete the as if / as though exercise. You can download it here again.

Files: Download a copy of the text here.

More activities: you can try to find out what French stereotype you correspond to. Click here and have fun! And get back to me with the result (post a comment to do so).

Here is the result for MY test...

You have a tidy white uniform with a red scarf and a silly white hat. When you are in a good mood, you kiss your fingers with a flourish. When you are in a bad mood, you chase ungrateful customers with a meat cleaver.