A bit of English every day
Welcome to my English learning support space! Here you’ll find some written explanations, as well as videos to help you become familiar with the sound of English from all around the world. Some of them are about learning the English language, but you can also find videos about traveling, cooking, music and many other topics. You’ll find shorts, reels, and longer videos so you can choose the format you like best. Just make sure you have your computer or phone settings on English in the language section! Learning to communicate in English with confidence can be a challenge, but there’s a secret to making it easier: put a little bit of English into your everyday life.
The days of the week
It’s not easy to learn the days of the week in English even for native speakers - there are songs and nursery rhymes to help children memorize them and this strategy can help adults too. Perhaps the worst problem is the similarity of the names “Tuesday” and “Thursday”, but the strange spelling of “Wednesday” is a problem too, as it’s pronounced “wensday”. And of course it’s not “venerdì” as it might sound but “mercoledì”. A song like The Cure’s “Friday I’m in Love” could be a nice substitute for the classic “days of the week” songs for kids.
Interview with Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox talks about her book Retrospective, looking back on her career with Eurhythmics and how it was shaped by the times she was living in. She comments on how her androgynous look grew naturally out of wearing second-hand clothes in the era of punk and exploring and challenging feminine stereotypes. She explains how the duo’s most famous song Sweet Dreams was composed in a time of crisis when they had no money and it seemed that nothing would ever happen. It was the song that turned their fortunes around and created success out of their feelings of failure.
The story behind Strawberry Fields Forever
David Hartley talks about the meaning behind this song of the Beatles, and how the life of its composers is an integral part of the creative process.
The creative process of Wish you were here
David Gilmour reveals the story behind the writing of one of Pink Floyd’s most iconic songs, in which his initial riff sparked off the creative process of Roger Waters and resulted in a song that seemed to exist in its own right just waiting to be discovered.