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ZAK WASHINGTON'S GUIDE TO ENGLAND.
A CULTURAL GUIDE TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR B1-C2 LEVEL FOREIGN STUDENTS (SP: extranjeros IT: stranieri) ... fun for native speakers too! (SP: hablantes nativos IT: madrelingue)!
(Recommended age: 16 +)
This is the true story of three days that almost changed the course of history. This is the truth that the British government tried to ban. (SP: prohibir IT: bandire )
WATCH THE VIDEO INTRODUCTION:
Video transcription:
GLOSSARY and ENGLISH USAGE
Here's the VOCABULARY and explanations from the introduction
[1] Great Britain, United Kingdom, England, British Isles etc. Great Britain is the large island that is north of France, and east of Ireland. It contains three autonomous regions: England, Wales and Scotland. Great Britain and Northern Ireland, together, are called the United Kingdom (The U.K.), which is, officially, the name of the country.
The official title that you can find on a passport is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Ireland (or Eire) is a separate country altogether. Confused? Us natives are too.
The British Isles refers to both the large islands, and therefore includes Ireland too, but this expression is used only in relation to geography. This is all according (SP: según IT: secondo) to the ‘official’ description.
Natives of Britain often think in different ways. If you ask any Englishman, or Welshman where he’s from, he will tell you England, or Wales, not the United Kingdom. Nobody except tourists say, ‘Are you from the United Kingdom?’ We seldom refer to ourselves as British either, probably because it has political connotations . It is much less common to see the British flag (SP: bandera IT: bandiera) the Union Jack-(the red, white, and blue one) hanging (SP: colgar IT: appendere) in public places, as it is to see the American flag in the US. This can be a political statement (SP: declaración IT: dichiarazione).
The easiest and safest way is to refer to each individual country or nationality. Thus England/English, Scotland/Scottish, Wales/Welsh, Northern Ireland/Northern Irish. All of these people could be called Britons, Brits, British, or more unusually, Britishers. Britons is uncommon outside of newspapers and formal styles. Brits is a popular word with non-Brits, and is informal; ‘He was running around drunk (SP: borracho IT: ubriaco) on the beach like a typical Brit abroad.’ Britisher is an ugly (SP: feo IT: brutto) word that is only usually heard outside Britain too.
British is the most universal and acceptable way of talking about the person’s nationality. It describes the people, but can be used as an adjective for anything else too: ‘British weather is so bad, but when it rains, a lot of British men go out without their umbrellas. Why?’ Also note that there is no adjective for someone from the United Kingdom, which considering this is the official name of the country, is absurd!
[2] Dumb (adj.) (SP: tonto IT: scemo) 1. Stupid, idiotic. 2. Unable to talk.
[3] (to) Over-charge (SP: cobrar di más IT: fare pagare molto caro) to ask more money for something than the normal price. Tourist prices!
[4] Dull (adj.) (SP: aburrido IT: noioso) boring, tedious, uninteresting.
[5] Mermaid (noun) (SP: sirena IT: sirena) half topless woman, half fish.
[6] Grotty (adj.) (SP: cutre, sucio IT: sporco, sgradevole) describes something that is dirty, ugly and without much charm. If someone told you about a grotty hotel, you definitely wouldn’t want to stay there, as it would be unpleasant and of bad quality. You might enjoy staying at a sleazy (SP: sórdido IT: immorale, peccaminoso) hotel a little more, as the meaning of this adjective is more to do with ‘immoral’ or ‘dishonest’ behaviour. There are probably prostitutes, drugs, or some kind of corrupt, illegal activity happening there. Sleazy doesn’t necessarily mean that the sheets (SP: sabanas IT: linzuoli) will be dirty. Seedy is a synonym. A tacky (SP: hortera IT: kitsch) hotel is more recommended. This would be of low quality too, but would best be described as ‘in bad taste’ (SP: mal gusto IT: cattivo gusto) and probably ‘out of fashion’. (SP: pasasdo de moda IT: fuori moda ) You should expect lots of gold, silver, and bright colours, flowery wallpaper, (SP: papel pintado IT: sfondo) plastic palm trees, etc. The word doesn’t imply dirty or illegal. Sleazy, seedy, and tacky are commonly used to describe people too. Other useful negative adjectives for places could be second-rate (below standard) and squalid (extremely dirty, unpleasant and poor), naff (SP: ordinario IT: pacchiani ) or crappy meaning ‘of disappointingly low or bad quality’.
[7] Fee (noun) (SP: tarifa IT: onorario, tassa, quota, iscrizione) the price to enter or join. Usually for schools, courses or professional services.
[8] As you know, the currency in the United Kingdom is the pound (sterling). What you may not know is that the pound has a nickname; the quid (SP: pavos IT: sterline) . Quid always keeps its singular form. How much is ten quid in Euros? The smallest coin is called the penny when it is in its singular form, and pence (SP: peniques IT: centesimi, soldi) in plural. These are much more frequently known by the letter p; I remember the days when a sandwich cost 25p.
Find all the LEARN ENGLISH WITH ZAK WASHINGTON videos on Youtube.
COURSE GRAMMAR AND SUBJECT INDEX
PART ONE
Introduction. Adjectives to describe character. Travel. Tourism
1. The Betting Shop Verbs + gerunds and infinitives. Gambling.
2. The Dole Office. Conditionals. Inversions. Phrasal verbs. Welfare. Job interviews.
3. The Pub. Modal verbs for deduction & advice. ‘Used to’ + gerund/infinitive. Drinking.
Anja’s guide to speaking perfect English. Part one. Pronunciation.
4. Brighton Beach. Fast food. Globalisation.
5. The Indian. Countable/uncountable nouns. Eating habits. Cookery.
Anja’s guide to speaking perfect English. Part two. Pronunciation.
6. The Police Station. Tenses. Modal verbs of obligation. Pronunciation. Crime school.
7. The Greasy Spoon Café. Phrasal verbs. Contractions. ‘Ain’t’. Pronunciation dictation.
8. The Squat. Dependant prepositions. Squatting. Homelessness.
9. The Bus and Underground. Phrasal verbs. Directions. Transport.
PART TWO
11. The Royal Revue Strip Bar. Can. Could. Be able to, Manage to. Adjectives. Physical appearance.
14. Speakers Corner. Future tenses. Freedom of speech. Heckling. Arms. Weapons. Crimes.
16. Her Majesty’s Prison Woodworm Shrubs. Revision. Swearwords. Insults. X-cert English.
PART THREE
CLICK WHERE YOU SEE THIS BUTTON FOR PART THREE WITH ANSWER KEY, SOLUTIONS, DISCUSSION POINTS and ADDITIONAL READING MATERIAL
(HAGA CLIC DONDE VE ESTE BOTÓN PARA LA CLAVE DE RESPUESTA.
FARE CLIC SU DOVE VEDERE QUESTO PULSANTE PER LE RISPOSTE.)
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READ PART 1 & PART 2. DO THE EXERCISES. DISCUSS WITH YOUR TEACHER AND FRIENDS. PLAY THE GAMES & ACTIVITIES. GO TO PART 3. FIND ALL THE ANSWERS, EXPLANATIONS AND VOCABULARY.
Use the CLASS DISCUSSION POINTS with your teacher, classroom or friends:
GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY EXERCISE.
1. CHOOSE (SP: elegir IT: scegliere) THE CORRECT ANSWER (SP: respuesta IT: risposta).
2. LISTEN (SP: escuchar IT: sentire) TO THE AUDIO FOR THE ANSWERS.
3. CLICK ANSWER BUTTON FOR THE EXPLANATION
Dear Raji Fred,
Hello darling! How do you do?/How have you been? This is your favourite little Queenie here. It’s been so long/so long time since I last saw you. I’m absolutely dying to get my hands on you again, and pass/spend some time together. Being/to be a monarch can be so boring sometimes. I get tired with/of/from all those stupid diplomats and tedious European royals. Yesterday, I must have/had to spend all day long with the Danish royal family. What bored/boring people! Then my usual meeting with the prime minister; I wish he’d brush his teeth occasionally. Anyway/By the way, enough of this nonsense.
Why don't you come up to my palace in Balmoral next week to talk around/talk over some of the plans for the royal wedding? What a splendid event it is going to be! I hope it’ll be even more successful than Charles and Diana’s. Between you and me, I never did care much for that Diana. My nephew/niece Lady Sara Winthorpe is so excited and nervous. The press are following her everywhere. I’m really so glad that she is getting married to your son Ali. Ali is such a charming, handsome gentleman. He’s yet/already become very popular with the British public. The only thing that really worries me is his English. He hasn’t spent much time living in this country and I’m worried about him not understanding our language and culture. Therefore/Moreover, I’ve arranged for some special classes for him, to prepare him correctly for the wedding. He will have his own particular/personal teacher, a very competent professional called Zak Washington. Ali starts studying with him tomorrow. The sooner, the better, eh?
Write me/write to me soon, and tell/say me if you want to come and see your little Queenie in Balmoral Palace. I might have to punish you for not having kept in contact for so long! Naughty little boy!
The Queen of England.
Listen to the ANSWERS on the audio:
0.3 VOCABULARY PRACTICE ACTIVITY
1. CHOOSE (SP: elegir IT: scegliere) THE CORRECT ANSWER (SP: respuesta IT: risposta).
2. LISTEN (SP: escuchar IT: sentire) TO THE AUDIO FOR THE ANSWERS.
3. CLICK ANSWER BUTTON FOR THE EXPLANATION
Listen to the ANSWERS on the audio:
LEARN ENGLISH WITH ZakWASHINGTON audio listening exercise. #ZAKMAG
0.4 GRAMMAR PRACTICE GENERAL ENGLISH
1. CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER.
2. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO FOR THE ANSWERS.
3. CLICK ANSWER BUTTON FOR THE EXPLANATION
Listen to the ANSWERS on the audio:
LEARN ENGLISH WITH ZakWASHINGTON audio listening exercise. #ZAKMAG
SPEAKING PRACTICE ACTIVITY ROLE-PLAY
Student A. You are the Queen of England. Your husband is an alcoholic who spends all day (SP: pasa el día IT: passa el giorno) chatting up (SP: ligar IT: rimorchiare) the attractive chambermaids (SP: camareras IT: cameriere) at the palace.
You are good friends with a 55-year old businessman Raji Fred. He is extremely rich and influential and very attractive too.
You would love to have a romance with him. You have invited him to your palace in Balmoral to talk about the wedding of your niece Lady Sara Winthorpe.
She is getting married (SP: se casa IT: si sposa) to Raji’s son. Your real intention is to seduce hunky (SP: bueno, sexy IT: muscolare, sexy) Raji. Don’t let him distract you with talk about the wedding. You need romance, affection and possibly a new husband. But don’t forget, you are the Queen of England, and you have to keep an image of respectability.
Student B. You are Raji Fred, a rich, noble, decent businessman (SP: empresario IT: emprenditore). You are extremely rich and influential. You are good friends with the Queen of England.
The only problem is that she fancies you (SP: le gustas, quiere ligar IT: vuole rimorchiare) ; that is, she thinks you are very attractive. You like her as a friend and businesswoman, but you aren’t considering a relationship. She is the Queen of England!
She has invited you to Balmoral Palace to discuss arrangements for the marriage between your son Ali and her niece (SP: sobrina IT: nipote) Lady Sara Winthorpe.
You must insist that arrangements are made for transport, the correct ceremonial route, family photographs, press releases (SP: nota de prensa IT: comunicati stampa) and other important issues (SP: temas IT: temi). Don’t let her start talking about romance. She’s not your type, and besides, she always smells (SP: huele IT: puzza) of gin and tonic.
DESK SERGEANT REYNOLDS, a respectable police officer who likes sleazy (SP: sórdida IT: immorale) Soho nightspots (SP: lugares nocturnos IT: locali notturni).
THE TICKET INSPECTOR, (SP: inspector de boletos IT: controllore)
(London Underground). 2,000,000,000 people speak English. It takes a very special talent to speak it worse (SP: peor IT: peggio) than all of them. Meet the man.
DAVE THE PICKPOCKET (SP: carterista IT: borsaiolo) will have his hands in your pockets, looking for your jewels in no time.
ABDEL, the proprietor of the Kebab Delight Restaurant, quite possible the capital’s most horrible and disgusting (SP: asqueroso IT: schifoso) restaurant. Learn English free there.
CHRISTOPER OFF, a lovely gentlemen with a phrasal verbs fixation.
Brush up (SP: ripasar IT: migliorare) on your English grammar with these Grammar Check-up Exercises:
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