Урок “Good Old Blues”

ЕТАПИ ЗАНЯТТЯ

ХІД ЗАНЯТТЯ

І.Організаційний

Мета: Організувати  студентів до заняття та створити позитивну атмосферу у групі.

Прийом: Привітання, вступне слово викладача, бесіда із студентами.

  - Good afternoon! I’m glad to see you here in class. Is anybody absent? What’s the matter with him/her?

- How are you today? How did you spend your weekend? Any positive impressions to share?

- By the way, how was your weekend? What did you do? What do you like doing on weekends? How much time does it take you to prepare your home assignments, to practice the instrument? Do you have any spare time to do anything else? Did you listen to music? What genre?

II. Введення студентів в іншомовне середовище. Мовленнєва зарядка. Активізація лексичних навичок.

Мета: повідомити тему, мету і завдання заняття, тренувати мовленнєві навички, активізувати лексичні навички.

Прийом: бесіда зі студентами, індивідуальне читання та обговорення цитат.

Today we’re going on our talk about music genres. And our today’s theme is “Good Old Blues”. We’re going to do a lot of things: we’ll learn new words, try to use them in different situations, learn some facts about the Blues.

But first of all, let’s have a look at the whiteboard. There you can see some quotations of famous people about blues.

• “For me there is something primitively soothing about this music, and it went straight to my nervous system, making me feel ten feet tall.”  Eric Clapton

• The blues are what I've turned to, what has given me inspiration and relief in all the trials of my life.  Eric Clapton
   
• Blues is easy to play, but hard to feel.  Jimi Hendrix

• Blues means what milk does to a baby. Blues is what the spirit is to the minister. We sing the blues because our hearts have been hurt, our souls have been disturbed.  Alberta Hunter

• Blues means what milk does to a baby. Blues is what the spirit is to the minister. We sing the blues because our hearts have been hurt, our souls have been disturbed.   Alberta Hunter

• The blues tells a story. Every line of the blues has a meaning. John Lee Hooker

     - Do you agree with these quotations? How can you explain them?

III. Введення та активізація нового лексичного матеріалу.

Виконання вправ на активізацію мовленнєвих зразків. Аудіювання.

Створення установки на сприймання і розуміння тексту.

Мета: ввести та активізувати нові ЛО, зняти лексичні труднощі, навчити аудитивної компетенції з повним розумінням тексту.

Прийом: хорове повторення ЛО, мовна здогадка, відтворення інформації через малюнки, заповнення інфо прогалин, слухання тексту, виконання усних та письмових вправ на перевірку розуміння прослуханого тексту, складання власних висловлювань з опорою на функціональну схему.

1. Pre-Listening Exercises

I-pods and other MP3 media players are becoming popular to play music on the go. Try and name at least 7 different types of music. Which are the most popular in your country?

Do you download music files from the Internet? If so, do you download them to a portable MP3 player or other device?

2. Listening Exercises

 2.1 Listen to the conversation, and answer the questions.

1. What kinds of music does this radio station play?

A. rhythm and blues

B. heavy metal

C. latin

 2. What is the disk jockey's first name?

A. Harold

B. Harvey

C. Harry

 3. Listeners can win __________ by identifying the name of music numbers.

A. music CDs

B. concert tickets

C. money

 4. How many times will listeners have a chance to win?

A. less than four times

B. four or five times

C. more than five times

 5. To win, listeners must identify the name of the musical number and _______.

A. when it was recorded

B. where it was recorded

C. who recorded it

Explanation of Answers

1. What kinds of music does this radio station play?

A. rhythm and blues

B. heavy metal

C. latin

Correct Answer (A). I think this question is obvious. The DJ says "nothing like some good old jazz to soothe the soul."

2. What is the disk jockey's first name?

A. Harold

B. Harvey

C. Harry

Correct Answer (C).

3. Listeners can win ___________ by identifying the name of music numbers.

A. music CDs

B. concert tickets

C. money

Correct Answer (B). The DJ says: "And don't forget that I'll be giving away tickets" to a jazz concert.

4. How many times will listeners have a chance to win?

A. less than four times

B. four or five times

C. more than five times

Correct Answer (C). Harry says that he will "be giving away tickets on the hour from now until sunup." In other words, he will be giving tickets every hour at 12:00 AM, 1:00 AM, 2:00 AM, 3:00 AM, and so on until the morning. So listeners would have up to six or seven times when they could call in to win.

5. To win, listeners must identify the name of the musical number and ________.

A. when it was recorded

B. where it was recorded

C. who recorded it

Correct Answer (A)

KEY:

1. rhythm and blues

2. Harry

3. concert tickets

4. more than five times

5. when it was recorded

- Listening Exercises

2.2. Listen to the conversation again and read along with the conversation. Review the Key Vocabulary and the sample sentences.

2. Vocabulary Activities

Review the key vocabulary from the conversation:

3.1.  Answer the questions based on the vocabulary you learned.

1. He can ________ many rock songs on his guitar. Taking guitar lessons for the past ten years has really helped him.

1. present
2. play
3. write

2. My brother can _______________ any song. He knows them all.

1. call
2. identify
3. soothe

3. Do you want to ________________ to some jazz music?

1. listen
2. hear
3. play

4. I really enjoy the _______________ this radio station plays. They have a really good beat.

1. shows
2. stories
3. tunes

5. I won two concert ______________ by calling the radio station and identifying the song they were playing. Do you want to come?

1. receipts
2. brochures
3. tickets

KEY:

1. play
2. identify
3. listen
4. tunes
5. tickets

3.2. Match the items on the right to the items on the left.

KEY:

3.3. Text Completion

Instructions: Listen to the recording. Then write the words you hear in the correct blank.

Game Show Host:

"Ah, nothing like good old rhythm and blues to soothe the _________⁽¹⁾ this late Wednesday night. This is Harry Williams, and I'll be with you throughout the night here on KQ1150. Oh, and don't forget that I'll be giving away tickets on the hour from now until ________⁽²⁾ for those of you who can _________⁽³⁾ this tune:

[ jazz music ]

Call me at 693-_______⁽⁴⁾ and be the seventh caller. And if you can tell me the name of that piece and the year it was recorded, you'll enjoy the ________⁽⁵⁾ of one of the best bands ever a week from this Saturday night downtown at the Silver Palace.

Now sit back, relax, and enjoy listening to KQ1150."

Key:

1. soul

2. sunup

3. identify

4. 3019

5. tunes

4. Post-Listening Exercises

Discuss the following topics with a partner.

• the most popular types of music in your country among different age groups
• the influence of music on your culture, for example, fashion, hairstyles, behavior, ways of thinking, etc.

IV. Тренування навичок читання та вибіркового перекладу. Виконання після текстових завдань.

Мета: навчити читати текст з розумінням основного змісту.

Прийом: індивідуальне читання та вибірковий переклад тексту, мовна здогадка, заповнення інфо прогалин, виконання усних вправ на перевірку розуміння тексту, складання власних письмових висловлювань згідно поданого плану.

Pre-reading activity

I guess you know a lot about different types of music. How would you describe the blues? What do you know about the origin of its name? What does it come from? What do this music express?

Reading

WORD GUIDE
 

Music: the Story of the Blues

by Robert Springer   

          What is - or what are - the Blues? The Blues is a feeling, most African Americans will tell you. If your girl or boyfriend leaves you, for instance, it's quite likely you'll feel sad or dejected for days. In other words, you'll feel blue; you'll have the blues.     What few African Americans will tell you is that the origin of the expression isn't black and American, but English, al­though to­day it's usually associated with Black Americans. In 16th century Eng­land, people who were depressed were said to be persecuted by the "blue devils". Later, in 1807, American author Wash­ington Irving already talked about "having a fit of the blues".
     But the blues today is generally understood as being a type of music which expresses the feeling of depression which was once common to Blacks, due to oppression, segregation and problems with the other sex. This may be the rea­son why Blacks used to say "White men can't have the blues", at least not the same kind of blues.

       The origins of the blues are diffi­cult to retrace because, quite naturally, an oral genre like the blues leaves few written traces. It seems to have develop­ed about 100 years ago, though the name "blues" was not yet used at the time. It grew out of black field songs, negro spirituals and the white folk ballads imported by British settlers and somewhat modified on American soil.
     The first blues recordings ap­peared around 1920. They were made by black women singers who were actually singing a somewhat adulterated form of the music which, strangely enough, was later called "the classic blues". Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith were the most authentic and popu­lar performers of the genre in the 1920's.
    The original country or rural blues did not come to be recorded until around 1925, when the record com­panies real­ised they could make quite a profit by asking black farmers, who were at best semi-professional musicians, to record a few songs for them in return for a little whisky and about $5 per song. The lady singers, being professional entertainers, of course requested more.
         In the 1920s and 1930s, many Blacks migrated to the North and Mid­west. They found work in the factories in Chi­cago, Detroit, St. Louis, and other ci­ties. Blacks brought their ethnic culture and their music with them. Blues singers migrated too, especially since, in a lot of cases, they were workers them­selves, and like everyone else they were trying to make a better living.
     A certain nostalgia for the south de­veloped; but at the same time, the trans­planted Blacks were becoming more soph­isticated, prefering to listen to music played by musicians more sophisticated than the rural blues performers. Thus small blues combos, with piano, guitar, har­monica and other instruments, began to replace the solo performers. From the 40's onwards, they converted to electric in­struments, and began to play a new form of blues, louder, more aggressive, which came to be call­ed "urban blues". In the 50's, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf were among the major exponents of this type of music, and later served as models imitated by many sixties groups such as the Rolling Stones and the Animals.
     After a period of hibernation in the 50's, the growing popularity of blues with young white audiences gave a lot of black blues-singers the opportunity to play again on a larger scale, for more money than before.
     Still, it is quite clear that today the blues, as an inde­pendent genre, is no longer considered as very fashion­able. Yet with its easy-to-learn three-chord structure, it is a conven­ient springboard for musical improvisation. It has had a wide influence on modern popular music of many varieties, and on musicians who wish to return to the roots of modern popular music before jumping off in another, perhaps new, direction.

Post-reading activity

1. There are words and expressions we use to indicate that what we are expressing is approximate, true to a certain degree, or apparently or generally true. How many words or expressions of this type can students pick out? How does the meaning of each sentence change, if they are eliminated?
    (Answers: # 1; it's quite likeley  # 2; usually.   # 3 generally, may;  # 4; seems to have, about, somewhat.  # 5; around, somewhat.  # 6; around.  # 7; reasonably)

2. Explain the use of the following expressions. Is it possible to eliminate them and keep the same meaning?

   # 1; In other words. # 2; said to be   # 4; quite naturally.  # 5; actually.  # 6; at best. # 7; heavily, Typically.

3. Write short coherent sentences, based on information in the article, to link the following words in the order given:
 

1.    oppression / segregation / the blues
2.    traces / genre / origins
3.    "classic blues" / adulterated / Bessie Smith
4.    cities / Midwest / nostalgia / combos
5.    1960's / popular / white / money

V. Online Investigations Мета: навчити студентів пошуку інформації для продукування усного монологічного висловлювання.

Use the Internet to gather information on two types of music and compare them in terms of:

(1) historical background (where the music is from),

(2) the types of instruments used in making the music, and

(3) the types of people with whom the music is popular (children, teenagers, young adults, mature adults, and seniors).

VІ. Підсумки заняття. Оцінювання. Мотивація.

You have done much today. You’ve learnt a lot about different music genres and the blues in particular.

You were great today. Your grades are … .

VII. Домашнє завдання.

Your home assignment for the next lesson is:

The Description of My Fafourite Music Genre:

(1) historical background (where the music is from):

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(2) the types of instruments used in making the music:

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(3) the types of people with whom the music is popular (children, teenagers, young adults, mature adults, and seniors):

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VII. Прощання

Thank you for your work! See you next week. Take care.

Good-bye!