Урок "William Shakespeare and his Influence on Modern Language"

      William Shakespeare and his Influence on Modern Language

Objectives: to inform a little about the contribution that Shakespeare made to the English language as it is today;

to introduce some commonly used idioms that can be found in Shakespeare’s works,  to enable students to learn the meaning of  them;

refresh students’ knowledge about Past Indefinite Passive  Voice.

By the end of the lesson students will be able: to share the information about William Shakespeare and his activity; to use the idioms in speech  themselves.

Lesson Equipment: a smart board, handouts (text), portrait of  William Shakespeare, video.

Level: Intermediate.

I. Підготовка до сприйняття іншомовного мовлення.

    Greeting. Warming – up.

The Epoch of the Golden Age  gave us a lot of marvelous, bright   writers. Let’s revise  the characteristic features of Renaissance.

• New social and economical conditions for a new ideology.
• The value of human individuality, of man.
• The new outlook was called Humanism.
• The dictatorship of the Church was shattered.
• It was the greatest progressive revolution.

-    The brightest and the most outstanding representative of this period is Wiiliam Shakespeare.

Aim. Today we are going to talk about one of the greatest English poets and playwriters – William Shakespeare and his  contribution to development of the English language. By the end of the lesson you’ll be able to use some of his idioms.

II. Основна частина уроку.

I want you to refresh your knowledge about this prominent person.

   Interactive exercise “Associative game”.

Teacher. Tell me any associative words to keyword “ Shakespeare “.  ( theatre, bard, sonnets, tragedy, comedy, the Globe Theatre, Stratford – upon  Avon).                                                                                                                                                                                 

 

 

  Watching the video.  Pre-watching activity.

Teacher. Now you’ll watch the video about W. Shakespeare. After watching the video be ready to answer some questions. Let’s study the new words and start watching.

 - disease – illness

- plague – a disease that spread quickly and killed many people in former times. It

   was spread by fleas.

(learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-stories/william-shakespeare)

 

 

After - watching activity.

1. Answer the questions:

1. When was Shakespeare born?
2. What do you know about his parents?
3. What subjects did he study at school?
4. Tell some words about his own family.
5. When was the first theatre open in London?
6. What was the main reason for writing the poetry instead of playing in the theatre?
7. What is the main difference between comedies and tragedies?
8.  Describe the Globe.
9. What is it  known about the bard’s last years?

 

2. There are  some words and numbers written down on the blackboard. Make up the  sentences with them  using  the Passive.

          1. Повтор правила вживання  Past Indefinite Passive.

 

1564

Latin, Greek, History

3 children

1576

some time before 1590

                the epidemic of plague

1593

sonnets, comedies, tragedies

special noises

1599

all parts in the theatre

 

   Jumbled reading.

 

  Teacher:  William Shakespeare played a major role in the transformation of the English language. Many words and phrases were first used in his plays.  He invented over 1700 of  common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original.

Here’s how Charles and Mary Cowden Clarke explain Shakespeare’s literary innovations in their book “ The Shakespeare Key”:

Shakespeare, with the right and might of a true poet, and with his peculiar royal privilege as king of all poets, has minted several words that deserve to become current in our language. He coined them for his own special use to express his own special meanings in his own special passages; but they are so expressive and so well framed to be exponents of certain particulars in meanings common to us all, that they deserve to become generally adopted and used.

Pre – reading activity

Begrudgingly – unwillingly, without enthusiasm;

Contribute – enrich.

 While – reading activity.

 In pairs read the text and arrange the parts of the text in the correct order.

 

a)     Before Shakespeare’s time, written English was, on the whole, not standardized. His works contributed significantly to the standardization of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. Shakespeare introduced 1,700 original words into the language, many of which we still use (despite significant changes to the language since Shakespeare’s time). These words include: “lonely,” “frugal,” “dwindle,” and many more.

b)   Almost all students of English, native and non-native speakers alike, have to study the works of William Shakespeare. Most do so begrudgingly. Part of this reaction is because, despite reassurances from teachers that Shakespeare was one of the most influential writers in the English language (and in the world), many students don’t understand exactly how profound Shakespeare’s influence was on the development of the English language.

Here’s some food for thought:

c)     Because of the profound impact of Shakespeare’s language on the way we speak today, studying the works of Shakespeare is an indispensable part of cultural education. Exploring the thousands of ways we still use Shakespeare’s language and themes is not only worthwhile and fascinating, but also fun.

d)      Finally, Shakespeare had a profound impact on poetry and literature that has lasted centuries. He perfected blank verse, which became a standard in poetry. Herman Melville, William Faulkner, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Charles Dickens were all heavily influenced by Shakespeare. The impact led George Steiner to conclude that romantic English poets were “feeble variations on Shakespearean themes.”

e)      In addition to all these words, many phrases that we use daily originated in Shakespeare’s work. When you talk about “breaking the ice” or having a “heart of gold,” or when you use any number of  other phrases, you’re using Shakespeare’s language.

(https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-the-english-language-is-shakespeares-language/)

 

Key: 1- b, 2 – a, 3 – e, 4 – d, 5- c.

After-reading activity

What is it an idiom?

A group of words in a fixed  order that have a particular  meaning  that is different from the meanings  of each word on its own.

Teacher. You can see Shakespeare idioms. Match  the  idioms with their meanings.

1)   A foregone conclusion                            a) not to sleep at all

2)   Not slept one wink                                  b) smth is not understandable

3)  The green-eyed monster                          c) to frown

4)   Bedazzled                                               d) a situation is clear from the beginning

5)   The world’s your oyster                          e) who has never done anything wrong

6)   To have a spotless reputation                  f) to treat smth  carelessly

7)   To make smb’s hair stand on end           g) meaning jealousy

8)   It’s Greek to me                                      h) something very scary

9)   Seen better days                                     i)  to impress forcefully

 10)  Knit smb’s brows                                   j)  to be in bad condition

 11) Played fast and loose                              h) being able to do anything you want

                                                                     because you have the opportunity to do so

 

   Key: 1 - d, 2 - a, 3 - g, 4 - i, 5 - h, 6 - e, 7 - h, 8 - b, 9 - j, 10 - c, 11 - f .

 

 

Complete the sentences with the idioms.

 

1. It seemed like  … that Tiger Woods would win the tournament.

2. She was young and pretty, with  … .

3. I could hardly get …  last night.

4. Some of the stories people had told me in that room would  … .

5. Envy is just like  …  which can destroy everything.

6. He tried to explain the rules of the game to me, but it was all … .

7. Her charm …  the audiences.

8. My blue coat is ten years old, it … .

9. She left school feeling that  … .

10. Stop  …  with that girl's feelings can't you see you're upsetting her?

11. Jane  …  because she was angry.

Key: a foregone conclusion,  a spotless reputation,  a wink of sleep, make your hair. stand on end.  a green-eyed monster,  Greek to me,  bedazzled,  has seen better days,

the world was her oyster,  playing fast and loose, knitted her brows.

 

Teacher: Give your own examples of the use of these idioms.

III. Підбиття підсумків уроку

Домашнє завдання

Write down  a short story using those idioms.

Підбиття підсумків

Let’s summarize our lesson. Whom was   it devoted to?

What was the most memorable for you today?

All of you worked hard. That’s why your marks are...

 

Інтернет — ресурси

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-the-english-language-is-shakespeares-language/

 

sentencedict.com/green-eyed%20monster.html

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ElmWPRioVo