More Tongue Twisters!

In our last post we talked about the benefit of using tongue twisters to improve your English pronunciation. Here's a fun way to improve your tongue twister skills--try rapping them! Watch the video below, and then give it a try (you can stop the video periodically while you view, and attempt some of the tongue twisters yourself!)  You know this guy must have practiced a lot before sitting down to entertain us with this video!

And now, how about tongue twisters for two: Betty Botter's butter.

Now YOU try!

Betty Botter bought a bit of butter.

The butter Betty Botter bought was a bit bitter

And made her batter bitter.

But a bit of better butter

Makes better batter.

So Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter,

Making Betty Botter's bitter batter better.

 

We gave "Tongue Twisting in Twos" a try. Here's how we did it:

• Students formed "teams" of two and chose a tongue twister (or two) from some printed on a handout* (see below).
• Teams had 15 minutes to practice using a rap-style rhythm, and then came to the front of the class for a rap performance.

Now take a look at some of the results!

*Tongue Twisters
A tutor who tooted the flute
Tried to tutor two tooters to toot
Said the two to the tutor
“Is it tougher to toot
Or to tutor two tooters to toot?”

Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep.
The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed
Shilly-shallied south.
These sheep shouldn’t sleep in a shack;
Sheep should sleep in a shed.

Three sweet switched Swiss witches
Watch three washed Swiss witch Swatch watch switches.
Which sweet switched Swiss witch watches
Which washed Swiss witch Swatch watch switch?

A big bug bit a bold bald bear and the bold bald bear bled blood badly.

Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons — Balancing them badly.

Can you can a canned can into an uncanned can like a canner can can a canned can into an uncanned can?

If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.

Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.

Tongue Twisters

What is a tongue twister? According to Wikipedia, "A tongue-twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken (or sung) word game. Some tongue-twisters produce results which are humorous (or humorously vulgar) when they are mispronounced, while others simply rely on the confusion and mistakes of the speaker for their amusement value."

Tongue twisters are found in all languages. I'll bet you can say a few in Dutch--or another language you know. Watch this video to hear some tongue twisters from native speakers in a few different languages.

Tongue twisters are a great way to practice pronunciation. Here are a few of some common English tongue twisters. They may look easy, but try to say each one 5 times as fast as you can and see how easy it is to loose control of your tongue!

• She sells sea shells on the sea shore

• A proper copper coffee pot

• Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran

• Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry

• A big black bug bit a big black bear

• Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

 You can find many, many more English examples here.

Here's another challenge for you!

So, what is the most difficult tongue twister? MIT researchers in Boston think they found the most difficult combination of sounds ever. You can read more about the research in this article from Mail Online, but in the meantime, let's see if YOU can say the world's hardest tongue twister: "pad kid poured curd pulled cold"

Tongue Twister Lesson:

Once the concept of tongue twisters was introduced, students were given the opportunity to create their own.

•  This activity is a variation of the old Consequences game. A paper with these questions was given to each student:

1. Write your first name
2. What did she/he do?
3. Where?
4. When?
5. Why? Because…

• Instructions:
• Get into teams of about 5 people.
• On a piece of blank paper write your answer to question 1.
• Pass the paper to the person on your right. Write an answer to question 2 on the paper you have just received. Your answer must begin with the first sound in the person's name (e.g. Bob - bought a bike).
• Pass the paper on again and write an answer to question 3, again using the sound at the beginning of the name.
• Continue until all the questions have been answered.

 Here are some of the tongue twisters students came up with!

1. Hugo hugged a huge heart in his head when he hurt the bird he took a shirt. 
2. Nelke knocked in the north of New York at night because Nelke is cool.
3. Tycho treated Tom in Turkey on Tuesday because he needed to treat a Tom Turkey in Turkey.
4. Danielle danced a dipidedoo dance in a dipidedoo competition on a dipidedoo day  because she loves dancing the dipidedoo.
5. Michelle made a money maker in the Mac on Money Monday because she loves making money on Money Mondays.
6. Teun sold Tom in tiny Tilburg at ten to ten because that's Teun's town.
7. Rens ran the road on the runway on Sunday because Rens is a runner.
8. Sander saw a saw in Shanghai on Sunday because he was scared.
9. Veerle fell flawless in France on Friday because she was frightened.
10. Wanne was worried in Wonderland when we were walking with wonder worries.
11. Miriam muddled in mud in Middelburg on Mud Monday because she wanted to be muddy.
12. Romy ran a race 'round the rivers while rainy rivers rained all day.
13. Hannah hit her hand helping in Harlem on helping day 'cause Harlem helped.
14. Mees met a monkey in the maze when monkeys murmured because he liked Muppets
15. Bodine bought bacon in a bacon store while the bacon was baked the bacon was unbaked.
16. Wessel waited in Wenonah one week in the wild weather.
17. Josef juggles in the jungle in January and he giggles.
18. Emma eats eggs anywhere, everytime, because eggs are excellent.
19. Iris ironed in Iraq when war was on Idols she wasn't important.
20. Roald runs in Roden at a rare race because he was running.
21. Roemer runs on the road in Romania as a rolling rat because Roald was wrecking Robin.
22. Jaimy joined a jogging group at a gym in July and makes a joke of joining the jogging group.
23. Danielle danced with a donkey at Dusseldorf in Deutstland in December because she doesn't dance with a dude.
24. Luna looked at a long person in London from the London Eye at lunch time. She loves the long person.
25. Vianne visited Venezuela on Victory Day because vegetarians hate her.
26. Jasmijn jumped in Jamaica in January because it's Julia's birthday.
27. Beau bought a ball in the bouncyhouse between June and July because she built a building.
28. Inger irritated and insect in India in the middle of the month--I'm happy lots!
29. Hannah handed in her homework in her house on a holiday because she hates holidays.
30. Silvy sat on a snake at summer school on a sunny summer day on the seventh of September on Sunday because she sat on a spider earlier, but the spider spit.
31. Nino ate noodles in Norway at nine past nine and now he needs to knock.
32. Poetra pushed Peter Pan from a pallet in Praag when the ponies pranced he wanted a pear.
33. Noah needs nothing in Neverland and nothing needs Noah.
34. Colin called in the club at 5 o'clock
35. Bas bit a bear while laughing in the bath when everyone was playing basketball.
36. Jasper jazzed in the jazz club and just last night he made a joke.
37. Mitch must make the mountain by Monday because he's moody.
38. Julian jumped from a plane in jail in July because he's jelly.
39. Iris irritated in the Intratuin on I-day because she's ill.
40. Rosalie read a red book in a red room on a rainy day because she reads red books.
41. Mara made a milkshake at a market on Mara Milkshake Market Day.
42. Lina liked a Lamp in Lollypopland a long time ago lamps are what she likes.
43. Joy enjoyed her jojo in the jellybean store when she jogged she jabbered.

Not bad for the first time! Take a look at the photos below to see how well all the groups cooperated to make their tongue twisters.

Reading The Christmas Carol Script

Last week we introduced Charles Dickens' story, "The Christmas Carol," and watched "Mickey's Christmas Carol" to give us an idea of the plot. This week we're going to read the play outloud, but before we get to the reading of the script, here are a few facts about "The Christmas Carol" you may not have known:

A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens in 1843.

What happens? Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by 3 ghosts at Christmas time, who encourage him to be a nicer person!
Charles Dickens full name was Charles John Huffam Dickens and his pen name was Boz.
The famous plum pudding that Mrs Cratchit made was not made of plums, but raisins.
The main characters of the story include Fezziwig, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit and most famously Ebenezer Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge’s famous catchphrase ‘Bah Humbug’ was only said twice by him in the book.
A Christmas Carol was written by hand and a typesetter (someone who set the type to print the book--the old fashioned way!) would have had to make sense of Charles Dickens’ crossings out and spelling mistakes before making the books.
There have been more than 50 film versions of A Christmas Carol including versions starring The Muppets, Barbie, Mickey Mouse and Mr Magoo.
One of the morals in A Christmas Carol is ‘To live our lives in a way that benefits others as well as ourselves’.

 Now, it's time to have a little fun with the play and act out the script for ourselves. We used two class sessions to read, discuss vocabulary, and try out our acting skills. I'll have to say, we have some quite talented students!

Follow the script below.

A Christmas Carol Play
(Adapted from the story by Charles Dickens by Walter Ben Hare)
 
A Christmas Carol Play Characters
A Christmas Carol Play Scenery and Costumes

A Christmas Carol Play Act One
A Christmas Carol Play Act Two
A Christmas Carol Play Act Three
A Christmas Carol Play Act Four
A Christmas Carol Play Act Five
A Christmas Carol Play Act Six
A Christmas Carol Play Act Seven
A Christmas Carol Play Act Eight
A Christmas Carol Play Act Nine

Now a few pictures of some of the highlights!

A Christmas Carol

The man you see in this photo is the famous and prolific English writer, Charles Dickens, who lived from 1812 to 1870. Have you heard of the story of Oliver Twist? Dickens wrote it. Great Expectations? Dickens wrote it.  A Tale of Two Cities? Dickens wrote that too, and many, many others. If you would like to know something about the life of Charles Dickens, watch this short video.

One of the most well known of Charles Dickens' stories is The Christmas Carol, first published in 1843. It is a story that is told time and time again--especially at the Christmas season. The main character is Ebenezer Scrooge, a grumpy, miserly (cheap) old man who needs to be taught the true meaning of Christmas. He's visited by three spirits (kind of like ghosts), who each teach him a lesson about generosity, kindness, the value of life, and goodwill toward all people. Do you think Ebenezer Scrooge learns his lesson at the end? Will he emerge from this a changed man? Below is a picture of a stage performance of A Christmas Carol. It shows the visit of Jacob Marley, a man who worked for Scrooge for a long time, but is now dead (wait, if he's dead, then how...? Oh right, he's a ghost!--Pretty scary!). He warns Scrooge of the coming of the three spirits.

Scrooge and Marley

There are many versions of Charles Dickens The Christmas Carol, which shows its immense popularity even after all of these years.

• Here's an animated version with Tim Curry doing the voice of Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
• If you like old black and white films, this classic called Scrooge is from 1935.
• This one is my personal favorite, a musical, also called Scrooge, based on A Christmas Carol
• For good fun, you may like to watch Mickey's Christmas Carol, starring none other than Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and a whole cast of Disney characters! 
• Below is another nice version of the film starring George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge.

For the Next few class sessions, we'll be working on a reading of The Christmas Carol.

Cliches

Finish these sentences: 

1. Every rose has its___________________
2. Absence makes the heart grow_________
3. You can't have your cake and _________
4. When the going gets tough, the tough ___
5. Where there's smoke, there's __________
6. Better late than ____________________
7. No news is________________________
8. Don't bite the hand that ______________
9. Two's company, three's a _____________
10. Every cloud has a __________________

If you have been speaking English for awhile, you've probably heard these phrases enough times to be able to fill in the blanks with no problem. See how you did (answers below)! For more on Cliches, take a look at the link under "Sites You Might Find Interesting" at the right.

So, what, exactly, is a cliche?
A cliche is a phase that is considered overused (used too often) which can be literal or figurative in meaning. Here are some examples:

• the good old days (literal = in the past when things were better) - I remember my years at college. Yes, those were the good old days.

• tip of the iceberg (figurative = only the beginning, or just a small percentage) - The problems we are seeing    (Source: About.com Popular Cliches Explained by Kenneth Beare)

 This short video will give you some more examples: A Cliche?

Our students had some fun with Cliches by making new ones. Here are some clever examples:

1. Don't worry, be happy-----Don't worry, do something!
2. An apple a day keeps the doctor away----An apple a day isn't a pear.
3. Behind the clouds the sun is shining----Behind the clouds, there's air.
4. All good things come to those who wait-----All good things come to those who are lucky.
5. A penny saved is a penny earned-----A penny saved is a penny not spent.
6. Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today----Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.
7. There's nothing to fear but fear itself----There's nothing to fear but swimming in a Speedo.
8. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again----If at first you don't succeed, reload the WiFi.
9. Don't bite the hand that feeds you----Don't bite me because I'll bite back!
10. Two's company, three's a crowd---Two's company, three's a number.

After each student wrote a number of new cliches, they chose one to illustrate. Here are just a few of the examples:

Inger den Boer

Hannah Willeboordse

Miriam Jaffari

Romy Joziasse

Tara Vlierman

 (Answers for above cliches: 1. thorn, 2. fonder, 3. eat it too, 4. get going, 5. fire, 6. never, 7. good news, 8. feeds you, 9. crowd, 10. silver lining)

More Music & Me Projects

There isn't enough space to show you all of the finished projects from our talented students, but for your viewing pleasure, take a look at these! (The YouTube links have the titles highlighted.)

• What Does the Fox Say by Sem Bode

• Alive by Sander Kloet

• Wake Me Up by Tabitha Wattel

• Somewhere Only We Know by Miriam Jaffari

• La La La by Julian van Grondel

• Hey Brother by Eijse Bokma

• Lemon Tree by Lucas Salomé

• In the Hall of Fame by Hugo Zaaijer

• Wake Me Up by Wanne Aarnoutse

• On Top of the World by Laura van de Kreeke

Finished Projects!

The English Fluency classes have now completed their Music & Me projects and have created some very nice videos combining images and lyrics to the song they chose. Below are three examples. Take a look!

• On top of the World, by Joy Schroevers.

EXTRA INFORMATION for above video:
On the end of the video, there are the words: "thanks to: Solange, Emma, Anouk and Nouria". They are really good friends, even they live completely somewhere else. But they have something special. This song reminded me of them, so I asked them to contribute drawings to my video, which I have included.
 
One more note about the other pictures in the movie:
I made them by myself. Not that I owned that pictures I used, but I mashed them up till I liked it. So I took some pictures, mashed them up and made the lyrics on it. ~ Joy :)

• Diamonds in the Sky, by Tara Vlierman

• Fix You, by Hannah Bijl