Michael Jackson Pronunciation Lesson: American English

O lecţie de pronunţie în baza câtecelor lui Michael Jackson. (Varianta americană a limbii engleze)

Come Away With Me

Come Away With Me was the first hit of the young singer, Norah Jones.

Questions

Come away with me in the ____.
light
night
right

Come away with me, and I will write you ____.
along
a song
a line

Come away with me on a ___.
fuss
bus
pus

Come away with me where they can’t tempt us with their ___.
tries
flies
lies

And I want to walk with you on a ____ day.
sunny
rainy
cloudy

In fields where the yellow ____ grows knee-high.
crass
grass
gross

So ____ you try to come?
want
went
won’t

Come away with me and ___ kiss, on a mountain top.
well
will
we’ll

Come away with me, and I’ll never stop ___ you.
loving
leaving
loathing

I want to wake up with the ___ falling on a tin roof.
pain
train
rain

____ I’m safe there in your arms.
When
Why
While

So all I __ is for you, to come away with me in the night.
bask
mask
ask

___ away with me.
Come
Came
Comb

Study Point: Learning an Instrument

1. Memorizaţi cuvintele:
* chord * work off of * by ear * beat * natural * gifted * notation * work out * tone-deaf * self-taught

2. Citiţi.

OK, so Mozart started composing and performing symphonies at the age of five. But we can’t all be so gifted. For most people, learning how to play an instrument is a challenging process that can take a number of years. It’s especially difficult to teach yourself how to play, without the help of lessons.

3. Devan încearcă să înveţe să cânte la chitară, dar nu i se reuşeşte. Ascultaţi-o cum cere sfatul de la Beren, care cântă la tobe într-o formaţie.

4. Gramatica. Be Able To.

Beren spune: It took me a while to actually be able to play a full beat and feel comfortable on the drums.
To be able to do something înseamnă a avea capacitatea de a face ceva.
Be able to uneori este folosit în locul lui can sau could.
În loc de, I can’t go, se poate de spus, I am not able to go.

Se poate de folosit be able to la orice timp, schimbând verbul to be.
De exemplu,
la present, I’m not able to come over right now.
la viitor, I hope I’ll be able to leave work early today.
forma interogativă: Are you able to help me move this weekend?

5. Întrebarea.

Can you use be able to to say which instrument you play?

Study Point: City life or Country life

1. Memorizaţi cuvintele.
* rat race * crazies * claustrophobic * commute * sick of * skyscraper
* middle of nowhere * watch your back * back to basics * sheriff

2. Citiţi.

When you think of life in a big city, do you picture crowds, traffic, noise, and pollution? Or do you imagine soaring skyscrapers, an exciting mix of cultures, and endless restaurants, nightclubs, museums, and shops?

Cities usually offer plenty of entertainment and excitement. But country life has its attractions as well. In the country, everything moves a bit slower. You can relax, lead a simpler life, and feel closer to nature.

3. Jason s-a sîturat de oraş şi se gândeşte să plece la ţară. Dar Ella ga crescut la ţară. Ascultaţi ce crede ea  despre viaţă la ţară.

4. Gramatica. Gradul comparativ al adjectivelor scurte. Comparatives with er.

Jason o întreabă pe Ella despre viaţa de la ţară, în comparaţie cu viaţa de la oraş:
- Do you think it was simpler? Did you feel calmer?

Simpler şi calmer sunt adjectivele la gradul comparativ
Gradul comparativ se foloseşte pentru a compara două sau mai multe lucruri.

Gradul comparativ al adjectivelor scurte se formează prin adăugarea lui -er.
De exemplu, calm – calmer.

Dacă adjectivul deja se termină în -e în cazul acesta se adaugă doar -r,
simple – simpler, wide – wider.

5. Răspundeţi.

English pronunciation

Hi. In the classroom today you will learn about English pronunciation.

The word pronunciation is a noun which means the way in which we speak a word.
The word pronounce is a verb which means to make the sound of a word.

One of the most difficult problems facing non-native speakers of English is pronunciation.

The three basic levels of English pronunciation include the following.
a) People usually don’t understand what you’re saying.
(Oamenii de obicei nu înţeleg ce spui)
b) People usually understand what you’re saying but you may need to repeat your statements.
(Oamenii de obicei înţeleg ce spui, dar e nevoie să repeţi de mai multe ori)
c) People understand what you’re saying the first time which is the goal of most English language learners.
(Oamenii înţeleg ce spui din prima dată, şi aceasta este scopul tuturor care învaţă limba engleză)

Try the following to achieve good pronunciation.
1. Practice English pronunciation as often as possible.
(Practică pronunţia engleză cât mai des posibil.)
2. Practice pronunciation in front of a mirror.
(Practică pronunţia în faţa oglinzii.)
3. Remember the spelling of words and their pronunciation are often different.
(Ţine minte că ortografia cuvintelor şi pronunţia lor sunt deseori diferite.)
4. Practice English pronunciation every day and soon you will sound like a native English speaker.
(Practică pronunţia engleză în fiecare zi şi în curând vei vorbi ca un vorbitor nativ.)

Until next time.

Leona Lewis – Better In Time (lyrics)

professional

non-professional

Study Point: Coraline

1. Memorizaţi cuvintele.
* sold out * refreshing * The Making Of * stop-motion animation
* creepy * scene * CGI * going for * bummed

2. Citiţi.

Have you ever wished that you could just open a door and step into a different life? In the new animated movie Coraline, a young girl finds a secret door in her bedroom that leads to a parallel universe. At first, this new world seems more interesting and exciting than Coraline’s real life. But then things start getting creepy: ghost children, trick mirrors, and people with buttons instead of eyes.
Coraline was made using stop-motion animation. A team of designers built hundreds of clay figures, and animators made it look like they were moving. So the film is like a work of art that took years to make.

Caroline

3. Ascultaţi-i pe Dale şi Mason vorbind despre film.

4. Gramatica. Used to Do vs. Be Used to

Mason spune: We’ve been so used to the CGI scene.
Aceasta înseamnă că oamenii sunt obişnuiţi să vadă filmele realizate la calculator.

are used to something = a fi obişnuit cu ceva, când este ceva normal pentru tine;
be used to este întotdeauna urmat de un substantiv sau gerunziu (-ing).
De exemplu,
I am used to the rain.
I am used to staying up late.

Pe de altă parte, dacă cineva spune: I used to do something.
Aceasta înseamnă că ceia ce obişnuia să facă în trecut, nu o mai face în prezent.
De exemplu, When I was a child, I used to fight with my siblings, but now we get along.
De asemenea used to do poate fi folosit pentru ceva ce a fost adevărat în viitor şi nu mai este în prezent. t
De exemplu, Drinking alcohol used to be illegal in the U.S.

4. Răspundeţi.

The Gambler by Kenny Rogers (with subtitles)

The Gambler (jucător de jocuri de noroc)