Wed Jan 7 & Thurs Jan 8: MOVIES

REMINDER ABOUT THE SCHEDULE FOR JANUARY 2015.

Monday Jan 5: 119 Listening and Pronunciation (as normal)
Wednesday Jan 7: Reading and Writing--combined class 
**Students in Oral Communication who normally attend on Wednesdays because they have other classes on Thurs please attend this Wednesday; your speech is still due **
Wednesday Jan 7 1-4pm: 119 Listening and Pronunciation make up class
Thursday Jan 8: Oral Communication --combined class (topic: Movies. Speeches due)

Monday Jan 12: 119 Listening and Pronunciation (as normal) **Essay assignment due**
Wednesday 14 January: 123 Oral Communication combined class DREAMS
Thursday Jan 15: Reading and Writing--combined class (Prof. Lola)

If you have any questions about the schedule, please contact me or post in the comments below.

MOVIE VOCABULARY
Genre: a type or kind of movie; genres include comedy, horror, thriller, sci-fi, documentary...
Director: the person responsible for the artistic side of making a movie
Producer: the person responsible for the business side of making a movie
Blockbuster: a very successful movie which makes a lot of money
Flop: a movie that doesn't do well at the box office/does not make a lot of money
Trailer: a short advertisement or preview of a movie
Matinee: a movie shown in the daytime

The topic for the next Oral Communication class will be MOVIES. This is also the topic of your speech assignment. You may give a speech on any subject related to movies, but please don't just summarize the plot of a single movie. Some ideas include:
-favourite movies, favourite genres of movies
-famous actors, actresses, and/or directors and their careers
-special effects in movies
-music in movies
-movies based on books
-awards for movies
-history of movies
-animation
-movie mistakes

Please also make sure that the speech is your own work, not something copied off the internet/books etc. Be sure to prepare your speech and practice it before class. 


For class discussion, please consider the following:

• Do you have a favourite movie? A favourite actor, actress, or director? Why do you like their work?
• How often do you watch movies? How often do you go to the cinema? Is there a difference between watching a movie at home and at the cinema? Which do you prefer?

The BBC Archive's Hollywood Voices collection offers interviews with the stars of the 'golden age' of Hollywood, including Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock: http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/hollywood/

Many movies today are offered in 'regular' and 3-D versions. Do you ever watch black and white films? How does the format affect your experience viewing the movie? An article fromThe Guardian discusses these, and other, issues:http://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/may/30/john-patterson-black-white-films

Wednesday December 17: 12:30 - 3:30 BOOKS

**Please note that both classes will meet together for this class. This special afternoon class replaces the class cancelled on December 24/25. **

The discussion topic for this class is BOOKS. Please think about the following questions, and also add your own ideas in the comments. People selected in the previous class to bring an article or special topic to tell us about will be asked to do so during the class.

Best books

• What is your favourite book? Why do you like it? 
• Who is your favourite author? 
• How do you decide what to read? Do you follow 'best books' lists or lists of award winners?
• How do you get your books? Do you buy books, read e-books, download books or visit the library?
• Are you a big reader? How many books would you say you read in 1 year? Do you prefer to read other things? What do you read, and when?

Everyone should also come prepared to discuss their 'must-read lists', that is, which books do you think are important for everyone to read in their life? Why did you choose those books? 

There are many, many readings list of recommended books: award winners, 'must read' books, top 10 lists, etc. If you were making your own list of books you think everyone should read, what would be on it? Links to other book lists are found here:

BBC Big Read (100 Favourite books list). How many have you read?  http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

GoodReads contributors have put together tons of book lists, from Best Young Adult Books, to Best Non-Fiction to Best Vampire Books. http://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/best

Browse The New York Times best-seller lists here: http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/overview.html

Some additional topics and articles that may be of interest:

**With each new technology that has changed or challenged books (radio, tv, the internet, ebooks) people have been predicting 'the end of books' or 'the end of print.' Do you think that people will ever stop reading books on paper? Why or why not?

**Do you visit libraries regularly? Why or why not? What role do they serve in a city or a society?

Changing role of libraries (from Encyclopedia Britannica) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/339421/library

Here's what the American Library Association (ALA) has to say on the matter: http://www.ala.org/research/librariesmatter/taxonomy/term/143

Are libraries outdated? British author Terry Deary thinks so: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/feb/13/libraries-horrible-histories-terry-deary

Kafka had this to say about how good books should affect us; what do you think? http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/06/06/kafka-on-books-and-reading/

Wednesday December 17: 9 - 12: CITIES

**Please note: groups A and B will meet together for this class. We will also meet again from 12:30 - 3:30 on December 17. **

 

The topic for this class is CITIES. Please consider the following issues; add your links, questions and suggestions in the comments below.

Liveable Cities

What makes a city good to live in? There are many surveys that look at various factors that make a city better or worse to live in, such as traffic, cost of housing, pollution, available green space. What characteristics would be important for you when deciding where to live? What about in 10 years? When you are ready to retire?

Here are links to some recent 'Best cities' reports: 

The Economist (2014): http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/08/daily-chart-13

Huffington Post (2013): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/worlds-most-liveable-cities-2013_n_3831701.html 

For those of you who grew up in a city, what do you like about your city? What do you dislike?

Urban vs Rural

Which do you prefer: country life or city life? Why? What are the advantages and disadvantages to urban and rural living?

This article from the BBC explores the differences between the two: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-13617401

UN Habitat publishes 'The State of the World's Cities' about urban issues; some information about their findings are available here: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48240#.VIdOryii22Q

 

World-Famous Cities

What is the most interesting city you have ever visited? What did you like about it? Where would you visit if you had the chance? Why? What makes a city 'world-class'?

Which of these top-25 destination cities would you like to visit? http://news.distractify.com/culture/trip-advisor-top-cities/?v=1

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/the-most-visited-cities-in-the-world-might-surprise-you-91954242582.html