It is the only major speaking language with no academy to lead or guide it as Real Academia with Spanish language or L’Académie Françaises with French language.
There are around 1 billion and a half learning English in all the world and it is increasing, maybe 2 billion.
More or less 90% of its most common words are from germanic origin.
However, since the 12th century most of the words introduced in English language have Latin origin.
Noah Webster is the responsible for the difference between American and British language.
The word “uncopyrightable” is the longest English word in normal use that contains no letter more than once.
The following sentence contains seven identical words in a row and still makes sense. “It is true for all that that that that that that that refers to is not the same that that that that refers to.”(= It is true for all that, that that “that” which that “that” refers to is not the same “that” which that “that” refers to.)
The shortest complete sentence in English is the following. “I am.”
A word formed by joining together parts of existing words is called a “blend”. Many new words enter the English language in this way. Examples are “brunch” (breakfast + lunch); “motel” (motorcar + hotel); and “guesstimate” (guess + estimate). Note that blends are not the same as compounds or compound nouns, which form when two whole words join together, for example: website, blackboard, darkroom.
Only two English words in current use end in “-gry”. They are “angry” and “hungry”.
A growlery is a place you like to retire to when you’re unwell or in a bad mood. It was coined by Charles Dickens in Bleak House (1853).
There was no word for the color orange in English until about 450 years ago.
The most common vowel in English is “e” and the most used consonant is “r”, followed by “t”. And if we look at just the first letter of a word, the most common is “s”.
English actually originates from what is now called north west Germany and the Netherlands.
About 4,000 words are added to the dictionary each year.
The two most common words in English are I and you.
The English language is said to be one of the happiest languages in the world – oh, and the word ‘happy’ is used 3 times more often than the word ‘sad’!
1/4 of the world’s population speaks at least some English.
There are 24 different dialects of English in the US
The word ‘Goodbye’ originally comes from an Old English phrase meaning ‘god be with you’.
The first English dictionary was written in 1755.
‘Pronunciation’ is the word which is most mispronounced in the English language!
‘Queueing’ is the only word with five consecutive vowels (five vowels in a row). This is a great word to use when you play hangman!
English is the official language of the sky! It doesn’t matter which country they are from, all pilots speak in English on international flights.
‘Pronunciation’ is the word which is most mispronounced in the English language!
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960. With members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the foremost and most influential act of the rock era. Rooted in skiffle,beat, and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several musical styles, ranging from pop ballads and Indian musicto psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements in innovative ways. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as “Beatlemania”, but as the group’s music grew in sophistication, led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, they came to be perceived as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the counterculture of the 1960s.
I could name hundreds of well known songs by The Beatles, but I am going to mention just my favourite ones and the ones you can use in your class of English with the students.
Yesterday
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be
There’s a shadow hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came suddenly
Why she had to go I don’t know she wouldn’t say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Why she had to go I don’t know she wouldn’t say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm
“Its about a Woman that was sick. She went to the hospital and died there the night after she was admitted. Her Son thought she left him because He may have said the wrong thing.”
Imagine
This is John Lennon’s song not The Beatles’ one, but it is also one of my favourite and it is perfect for the celebration of Peace Day at school. You can sing all the school together or to finish the class after watching Martin Luther King’s manifesto, and each student should finish the sentence “I have a dream…”.
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace, you
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world, you
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
“Imagine is all about liberation and something we must all believe in if we want to make a better place for humanity. Lennon understood this better than anyone an this why Imagine will always be the best song associated with the Beatles because it chrystalizes and encapsulates what the Beatles stood for.”
Here you have a website with lots of activities for The Beatles songs: isl Collective
Across the universe
The music of the Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist.
You can use it at the end of the unit to remember all The Beatles songs and also you can use it in collaboration with the teacher of History and talk about the Vietnam war, do a cooperative project.
TED talk
It is not exactly about The Beatles but it is about Tribes and the influence of Internet on society and he makes a comparison with Beatlemania and current teens.
There have been a little bit of mystery about the “fith beatle” and here you have a TED talk that maybe sorts out the doubt.
Placebo are an English alternative rock band, formed in London in 1994 by singer-guitarist Brian Molko and guitarist-bassist Stefan Olsdal. The band were soon joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was replaced in 1996 by Steve Hewitt. Hewitt parted ways with the band in 2007 due to personal and musical differences and was replaced the following year by Steve Forrest, who left the band in 2015 to pursue his own musical career.
Placebo are known for their androgynous image and musical content. To date, they have released seven studio albums, all of which have reached the top 20 in the United Kingdom, and have sold around 11 million records worldwide.
Sucker love is heaven sent
You pucker up our passion’s spent
My heart’s a tart your body’s rent
My body’s broken, yours is spent
Carve your name into my arm
Instead of stressed I lie here charmed
‘Cause there’s nothing else to do
Every me and every you
Sucker love a box I choose
No other box I choose to use
Another love I would abuse
No circumstances could excuse
In the shape of things to come
Too much poison come undone
‘Cause there’s nothing else to do
Every me and every you
Every me and every you
Every me…
Sucker love is known to swing
Prone to cling and waste these things
Pucker up for heaven’s sake
There’s never been so much at stake
I serve my head up on a plate
It’s only comfort, calling late
‘Cause there’s nothing else to do
Every me and every you
Every me and every you
Every me…
Every me and every you
Every me…
Like the naked leads the blind
I know I’m selfish, I’m unkind
Sucker love I always find
Someone to bruise and leave behind
All alone in space and time
There’s nothing here but what here’s mine
Something borrowed, something blue
Every me and every you
Every me and every you
Every me…
Every me and every you
Every me…
Every me and every you
Every me…
Every me and every you
Every me…
Every me and every you
Every me…
Every me and every you
Every me…
The song is about hurting someone you love and saying you know you are a loser and you can’t help it.
Pure morning
A friend in need’s a friend indeed,
A friend with weed is better,
A friend with breast and all the rest,
A friend who’s dressed in leather,
A friend in need’s a friend indeed,
A friend who’ll tease is better,
Our thoughts compressed,
Which makes us blessed,
And makes for stormy weather,
A friend in need’s a friend indeed,
My Japanese is better,
And when she’s pressed she will undress,
And then she’s boxing clever,
A friend in need’s a friend indeed,
A friend who bleeds is better,
My friend confessed she passed the test,
And we will never sever,
Day’s dawning, skins crawling
Day’s dawning, skins crawling
Day’s dawning, skins crawling
Pure morning
Pure morning
Pure morning
A friend in need’s a friend indeed,
A friend who’ll tease is better,
Our thoughts compressed,
Which makes us blessed,
And makes for stormy weather,
A friend in need’s a friend indeed,
A friend who bleeds is better,
My friend confessed she passed the test,
And we will never sever,
Day’s dawning, skins crawling
Day’s dawning, skins crawling
Day’s dawning, skins crawling
Pure morning
Pure morning
Pure morning
A friend in need’s a friend indeed,
My Japanese is better,
And when she’s pressed she will undress,
And then she’s boxing clever,
A friend in need’s a friend indeed,
A friend with weed is better,
A friend with breast and all the rest,
A friend who’s dressed in leather.
It is about friendship, there are lots of interpretations some of them are about the importance of having female friends but others are about the interest in friendships.
Song to say godbye
You are one of god’s mistakes.
You crying, tragic waste of skin.
I’m well aware of how it aches.
And you still won’t let me in.
Now I’m breaking down your door,
To try and save your swollen face.
Though I don’t like you anymore
You lying, trying waste of space.
My oh my.
A song to say goodbye.
A song to say goodbye
A song to say goodbye,
A song to say,
Before our innocence was lost
You were always one of those blessed with lucky sevens,
And the voice that made me cry.
You were Mother Nature’s son.
Someone to whom I could relate.
Your needle and your damage done,
Remains a sordid twist of fate,
Now I’m trying to wake you up,
To pull you from the liquid sky.
Cause if I don’t we’ll both end up with just your songs that say goodbye.
My oh my.
A song to say goodbye,
A song to say goodbye,
A song to say,
Before our innocence was lost you were always one of those blessed with lucky sevens,
And a voice that made me cry.
It’s a song to say goodbye
“It generally is about someone who takes to much drugs and the person in the song doesn’t really like them anymore, but feels obligated somehow to help this person.”
The Killers are seen as one of the biggest rock bands of the 21st century,[2] and the most successful rock act to ever emerge from the state of Nevada, having sold an estimated 22 million albums worldwide.[3] They have achieved worldwide success as a live band, performing in over fifty countries and on six continents.
Breakin’ my back just to know your name
Seventeen tracks and I’ve had it with this game
A breakin’ my back just to know your name
But heaven ain’t close in a place like this
Anything goes but don’t blink, you might miss
‘Cause heaven ain’t close in a place like this
I said heaven ain’t close in a place like this
Bring it back down, bring it back down tonight
Never thought I’d let a rumor ruin my moonlight
Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential
Ready let’s roll onto something new
Takin’ it’s toll then I’m leaving without you
‘Cause heaven ain’t close in a place like this
I said heaven ain’t close in a place like this
Bring it back down, bring it back down tonight
Never thought I’d let a rumor ruin my moonlight
Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential
A rushing, rushing around
Pace yourself for me
I said maybe, baby, please
But I just don’t know now
When all I want to do is try
Well somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential
A rushing, rushing around
Somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential
A rushing, rushing around
Somebody told me you had a boyfriend
Who looked like a girlfriend
That I had in February of last year
It’s not confidential, I’ve got potential
This song deals with a boy who heard his girlfriend’s boyfriend and their relationship, so we can use it with our teens students to talk about relationships.
When you were young
You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save your from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now, here he comes
He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentlemen
Like you imagined when you were young
Can we climb this mountain
I don’t know
Higher now than ever before
I know we can make it if we take it slow
Let’s take it easy
Easy now, watch it go
We’re burning down the highway skyline
On the back of a hurricane that started turning
When you were young
When you were young
And sometimes you close your eyes
And see the place where you Used to live
When you were young
They say the devil’s water – it ain’t so sweet
You don’t have to drink right now
But you can dip your feet
Every once in a little while
You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy to
To save you from your old ways
You play forgiveness
Watch it now, here he comes
He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentlemen
Like you imagined when you were young
When you were young
I said he doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus
But more than you’ll ever know
Song’s meaning: It’s about a girl who’s imagined a perfect boy ‘when she was young’. She waits forever to find him, and she finally finds him, and he makes her a better person.
Human
I did my best to notice
When the call came down the line
Up to the platform of surrender
I was broad but I was kind
And sometimes I get nervous
When I see an open door
Close your eyes
Clear your heart
Cut the cord
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
My sign is vital
My hands are cold
And I’m on my knees
Looking for the answer
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
Pay my respects to grace and virtue
Send my condolences to good
Give my regards to soul and romance
They always did the best they could
And so long to devotion
You taught me everything I know
Wave goodbye
Wish me well
You got to let me go
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
My sign is vital
My hands are cold
And I’m on my knees
Looking for the answer
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
Will your system be alright
When you dream of home tonight?
There is no message we’re receiving
Let me know is your heart still beating?
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
My sign is vital
My hands are cold
And I’m on my knees
Looking for the answer
You got to let me know
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
My sign is vital
My hands are cold
And I’m on my knees
Looking for the answer
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
Are we human?
Or are we dancer?
Are we human
Or are we dancer?
This song is about Brandon’s struggle with his faith. I think he’s questioning if there’s a God or not.
Read my mind
On the corner of main street
Just tryin’ to keep it in line
You say you wanna move on, and
You say I’m falling behind
Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?
I never really gave up on
Breakin’ out of this two-star town
I got the green light
I got a little fight
I’m gonna turn this thing around
Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?
The good old days, the honest man
The restless heart, the Promised Land
A subtle kiss that no one sees
A broken wrist and a big trapeze
Oh well, I don’t mind, you don’t mind
Cause I don’t shine if you don’t shine
Before you go, can you read my mind?
It’s funny how you just break down
Waiting on some sign
I pull up to the front of your driveway
With magic soaking my spine
Can you read my mind?
Can you read my mind?
The teenage queen, the loaded gun
The drop dead dream, the Chosen One
A southern drawl, the world unseen
A city wall and a trampoline
Oh well, I don’t mind, you don’t mind
‘Cause I don’t shine if you don’t shine
Before you jump
Tell me what you find
When you read my mind
Slipping in my faith until I fall
He never returned that call
Woman, open the door, don’t let it sting
I wanna breathe that fire again
She said, I don’t mind, you don’t mind
Cause I don’t shine if you don’t shine
Put your back on me
Put your back on me
Put your back on me
The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun
When you read my mind
“The narrator (whether it’s autobiographical about Flowers or not) is singing to a girl he used to dream with. That is, they probably grew up in a small, unpromising town, and would dream together about the places they’d go and the things they’d do, and then life was too distracting and here they are as adults and it seems the narrator had given up on his dreams. He’s convincing the girl that he “never really gave up on breaking out of this two-star town,” and he has “a green light” (his opportunity to finally get out).”
English in Paradise 