DRIVING Through the City in English

As many English Users know, practical language learning is a journey that is best achieved in context. Well, this is language approach you'll find in HIT THE ROAD PAUL, a fun video-story course available for FREE to anyone with an internet connection.This course is designed for both students and teachers of English interested in learning or teaching authentic English in context.

The Story: English teacher StoryPaul only has 45 minutes to get to an office downtown and pick up a document. In each episode, we focus on a different topic related to travel and traffic. At the end, we find out if he makes it to his destination on time. Along the way, students have a chance to learn and practice idioms & speaking patterns related to each episode.

Episode 1 - In the Garage is about how to use the English language to talk about starting a car and getting out of a garage. See questions at the end.

UNDERSTANDING THE SCREENS

The Full Dashboard - Provides a space for key language elements like Questions and Target Language that the students can repeat by pausing the video.

This board includes Time Remaining and Distance Remaining which track how much time and how many kilometers Paul has until he reaches his destination.

VERB elements are usually in upper case letters for easy identification.

The Standard Dashboard - Contains no time and distance information, but still includes Target Language and Name of Episode.

Target Language - The language in each Dashboard is the target language of the lesson. They are modeled phrases and sentences that students can stop to repeat when watching the video a second time.



Additional Language - Language that is not essential or does not constitute a learning objective is often shown on a smaller lower third graph that appears on the left side of the screen.

While this is not the Target Language, students are just as welcome to learn it.

Photos and Pictures are sometimes added to illustrate key ideas. A Time Clock may also appear on this lower third screen.

RECOMMENDED WAY TO USE THE VIDEOS

(independently or as group / with a teacher or as self-study)

1. WATCH it once without stopping. Don't worry if you miss something.

2. ANSWER the General Questions.

3. WATCH again and Stop, carefully Read and Repeat the Target Language on each Dashboard.

4. ANSWER the Discussion Questions.

5. WATCH one more time without stopping.

6. As soon as you have a chance, tell a friend in English what the Episode is about. (Remember that Paul speaks in First Person; so a great exercise is to change his sentences to Third Person)

EPISODE 1 QUESTIONS & QUIZ

General Questions

1. Why is Paul going downtown? 

2. How much time does Paul have to get to the office downtown?

3. What's the first thing Paul does when he gets in the car?

4. How does Paul start the car?

5. What kind of car does Paul have?

6. Why does Paul look in his mirror when he is driving inside the garage?

7. What does Paul do when he gets out of his garage.

8. What do we call people who walk in the street?

Answer the same Questions in the Quiz below:

Discussion Questions

1. How do you travel around the city or town?

2. If you or some in your family drives, what kind of car is it (stick shift or manual)?

3. Do you like cars? Why or why not?

4. Do you live in a big city? If not, where do you live? Is there a lot of traffic?
5. Do you put on a seat belt when you travel in a car? Why or why not?
6. Do you lock the doors? Why or why not?

7. Do people in your country honk to tell pedestrians they're coming out of a building?
8. Do you think Paul will make it on time to the office?

There are more videos in the series, so be sure to check once in a while. Enjoy!

The True Nature of the English Language

Have you ever wondered why English grammar rules and vocabulary are so diverse and inconsistent compared to other more "pure" languages?

The English we know today has its origins over one thousand years ago as events in history would merge speakers of Old English (a more rudimentary language that evolved from Anglo-Frisian dialects of Germanic invaders to the British isles) with those of Old French (the more academic language that descended from spoken Latin in the Roman Empire).

Today, English is a modern language that is in a constant state of evolution as business, science and technology are most often communicated globally in English. Arguably, there are many social, economic and geopolitical factors that have made this the case.

But here's the linguistic one. It's the varied origins of English in the past that make it a language that is adept at adaptation, as it becomes the world's lingua franca. It's a language that today, at the dawn of the 21st century, continues to incorporate words and concepts of other Western languages and some Eastern ones as well.

Does this means that English threatens the continuity of other languages? Absolutely not. English is just a language that many will continue to learn as a second language because it helps to break down barriers to communication with the rest of the world, not just the English-speaking countries.

So if you study English, keep in mind that it is a very open and dynamic language. Not a closed and rigid one. This is why trying to learn English by merely studying its rules is often not as effective as taking a more natural and contextual approach to learning it.

The following video from the people at TED-ed tells us the story of the early evolution of English. To watch, make sure to TURN ON the captions if you want to read along. Enjoy!

CONNECT and RESPECT across Countries and Cultures

It's not every day that we get to learn cool words and expressions from an English teacher who also happens to be a talented rap artist. Because it's even less often that we hear about an English teacher that takes his English-through-music-method (Collolearn) to different corners of the world.

And that's because there aren't many English-as-a-second-language teachers quite like Jason R. Levine... aka Fluency MC.


Below you will find a LESSON based on his latest lingo boom box hit which has him groovin and movin through the beautiful streets of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. You see, Jase had been on a teaching tour of the North African country for the second time, when he took time out to shoot the music video with production from a top local crew.

Like everything Jase does, there are two concepts that shine through: connect and respect. After all, Fluency MC's music is meant to connect learners with the English language through music and it's meant to do it with respect.

So, respectfully, you're invited to watch the clip and connect with new words and expressions provided in the lyrics and explanations below. Enjoy!

Fluency MC. NJ, USA and Paris. MK and DJ Ghost, La Tunisie.

Worldwide, don’t hide, build your pride, come inside and let’s ride…

Hey, Tunisia. Respect and connect. Across countries and cultures

our intellects intersect. We’re holding it down to raise each other up,

letting learning erupt. Come and fill up your cup.

It’s Fluency MC in the place to be, feeling the high energy of

La Tunisie. Tunisian students and teachers, I’m thrilled to be with them.

Thanks to Gallery Languages and the Space of Wisdom, led by

Salwa Abid. With C the P, we take the lead, moving ahead at top speed,

giving learners what they need to gain unlimited access.

From Tunis to Sfax, it’s on in Djerba and Sousse; we’re turning

fun in learning loose in every spot that we can. Don’t be mistaken.

Gafsa, Gabes, Bizerte, Msakken, and Nabeul. We’re bringing

motivation to the table because once you’re engaged, your brain’s

no longer caged. You can grow what you know out on the world stage.

Hey, Tunisia. Respect and connect. Across countries and cultures

our intellects intersect. We’re holding it down to raise each other up,

letting learning erupt. Come and fill up your cup.

They say, ‘strike when the iron’s hot’ and it’s aflame! Across North Africa

they know my name. Fluency MC is building crazy game with Strategos,

DJ Ghost, and MK catching fame. With Collo and Spark, I shifted

out of park. Here we go. In Morocco, I left my mark. Greeted Tunisia,

and when I disembarked, it was on from the start: hit it out of the park.

Took a plane to Bahrain to teach and entertain. At dawn I was gone,

woke up in Oman; then to the Holyland and on to Jordan.

This is much more than a trend; it won’t end; we’ll keep soaring.

The family spirit is spreading far and wide. Learning through fun is being

magnified, even dignified as we multiply; so many passionate learners

are along for the ride. I’ll be your guide and remain at your side and

provide the support that will quicken your stride. 

I’d never abandon you,never leave you hanging; come with lessons that 

are heat and beats that are banging. I’m in this to win this, committed long-term. 

With the Fluency Fam, you know my team’s confirmed. Tunisia, I needed you.

I had to return. Yo, Globe: I’m going to show you how to flow while you learn.

If you’re not having fun, you ought to be concerned.

Take the stress out of your lessons when you teach (taught, taught)

because the blessings we’ve got are our kids and their thoughts become

the seeds that are planted for their deeds of tomorrow. It’s time to

invest, not to beg or borrow. Follow Jase, with haste your base will

grow when you collo.

Hey, Tunisia. Respect and connect. Across countries and cultures

our intellects intersect. We’re holding it down to raise each other up,

letting learning erupt. Come and fill up your cup.

Fluency MC

www.colloandspark.com © 2014 Jason R. Levine and ColloLearn, LLC

Respect Tunisia

Fluency MC. NJ, USA and Paris. MK and DJ Ghost, La Tunisie.

KEY VOCABULARY

• intersect: (v) to meet and cross at one or more points
• fill up: (ph. v) to completely fill a container; to be completely satisfied
• hold something down: (ph.v., slang) to take care of business / to stay cool
• raise someone up: (ph.v.) to hold someone up high: to support someone in need
• erupt: (v) to erupt like a volcano
• turn something loose: (ph.v.) to set something free
• engaged: (adj) the condition of having your attention totally focused on something you like
• caged: (adj) trapped or limited in your ability to move
• the world stage: (metaphor) seeing the world as a stage and ourselves as actors on it
• strike when the iron is hot: (idiom) do something when you have the chance to do it
• aflame: (adj) to be on fire
• leave your mark: (idiom) to leave something that represents you in a place where you have been
• to hit it out of the park: (metaphor, baseball) another way to say, "make a home-run" which is to score big in baseball
• trend: (noun) a recent pattern that repeats
• soaring: (v) flying high
• magnified: (adj) becoming more important
• dignified: (adj) a respectable thing to do
• leave someone hanging: (idiom) to abandon someone in a moment of need
• long-term: (expression) refers to something that has been planned for a long duration
• ought to be concerned: (collocation) should be worried about something
• haste: (noun) speed in motion

YOUR TURN

Did you enjoy the song? Ok, listen to the song again. Read the lyrics again. Check out the vocab again. And now, have fun making your own sentences.

Here are questions to give you ideas or to discuss with your Class or Self-Study Group. Use a dictionary if you don't know any other words.

1. What things intersect?
2. What things can you fill up?
3. Have you ever held it down in a tough situation? What happened?
4. Have you ever raised someone up? What was the situation?
5. When was the last time a volcano erupted? (Don't know... Google it)
6. What would you do if a wild animal was turned loose in your city or town? (Start with "if")
7. In which learning situations are you most engaged?
8. Have you ever felt caged, even though you weren't really in a cage?
9. What are some ways that people today can get out on the world stage?
10. Why do people say it's better to strike when the iron is hot?
11. What do you think is the football (soccer) equivalent of hitting it out of the park?
12. Do you follow the latest trends in fashion? Why or why not?
13. If someone is soaring in debt, what is their situation?
14. Why would a scientist magnify the image of a bacteria she is studying?
15. Do you feel dignified if someone recognizes your hard work?
16. Would you be offended if your friends left you hanging when you were going through difficulties?
17. What problems have a long-term solution?
18. We ought to be concerned about many world problems. Could you name a few?
19. She left in a haste. What does that mean?
20. What does connect and respect mean to you?

When you finish, come back to Fluency MC's song and video again. You'll see you'll have a deeper understanding of the lyrics. And as Jase always says, relax, repeat... remember.

And above all, don't forget to...

Connect and Respect!