Learn English through Art & Design

Hello everyone,In today’s episode I’m going through a lesson plan I have used with some of my students before to talk about a video I found on TED talks called - How painting can transform communities. I suggest you watch the video first here or pause this podcast episode to watch the video when you have a chance. The video has subtitles to make it easier to understand anything you might not be sure about.On the video, the two Dutch Artists Koolhaas and Urhahn talk about how they create community art by painting entire neighbourhoods and involving those who live there -- from the favelas of Rio to the streets of North Philadelphia. You’ll see how the projects they were involved in transform the communities into art projects which captured the attention of the world.If you’re interested you can find out more about their projects at the favela painting projects website. https://favelapainting.com/PROJECTS-HOME I’ll talk a little about the vocabulary you will hear in the video: 4:50 Vocabulary Favela - Neighbourhood in RioShoot a video - recording a video master plan - it’s usually a plan showing what things will happen and at what time scale so everyone knows what will happen. Favela is a neighbour which is planned over time without a master plan s it develops more organically.Work in progress - an unfinished project that is still being added to or developed.NGO - Non- governmental organisation An NGO is an organisation, usually non-profit, that operates independently of a government.What struck us - causes someone to think about somethingSome of the ideas stuck - they were good ideas and they decided to go ahead with themWe lost count - to fail to be able to count someone or something, especially because there are so many.Our crew - a group of people working togetherNotorious slum -  overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people.See the newspaper article here:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/feb/09/artnews.brazilLittle did we know -  It is used to remark on the fact that a person committed some action while entirely unaware of what was going to happen nextThrow a bbq - put on or hold a gathering/BBQFigured something out - resolve it or find a solutionbuild something from the ground up with no plan - starting with the basics 14:20 True/False questions:The two people giving the talk are ItalianThe first project was in RioWhen they first thought about the first project they thought about it as being one big work of artWhen the two artists suggested the project to their friend Nanko who worked for an NGO he said everyone would hate the idea.When the artists first painted the building blue, the people loved it.The kids loved the picture of the boyThe local newspaper wrote about itFor the second project in Rio, they painted a concrete road in the Japanese style.From this project, they learn that the next project should be detailed.Discussion questions: What other places in the world do the colourful buildings remind you of?When they did the project in North Philadelphia, who did they start BBQing?Why do you think it’s important to do the projects by working with the local people and the local artists?Why do you think they chose to paint the buildings using colour? Do you think it would have the same impact without colour?Would you like it if this happened in your neighbourhood?Want to have a go at answering any of these discussion questions? Send me an email to [email protected] and I'll correct it for you if you like. Thanks and I'll see you next time for another lesson, this time about Street Art in Galleries.

Hello everyone. Today I’m bringing you a short episode about the Google Arts and Culture App or website and why I think it’s a great resource for exploring art (especially now that we are in lockdown). It’s also a good way for you to explore some of the paintings I am going to talk about in my next Arty Anglais Episode which will come with a transcript).You can find the Website here. https://artsandculture.google.com/I’ve suggested a few examples of things you can do on this website: my favourite part of this website is the zoom feature. I use this sometimes to show my students close up images of paintings like Van Gogh’s Starry Night.I invite you to have a look at the Art Movement: Ukiyo-e before I release my episode on Japanese Art this week. See if you can find my favourite painting of a waterfall. What are your favourites from this page?https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/ukiyo-e/m0bwbv?categoryId=art-movementTomorrow I’ll be doing an episode about a video I found on TedTalks called: How painting can Transform Communities. If you want to watch it beforehand that might help with understanding and talking about the episode. I’ll talk about vocabulary, expressions and some discussion questions from the video.I look forward to sharing it with you and keeping you learning English during this time.If you have any questions don't hesitate to send me an email to [email protected]

Hello everyone. With such worrying times and the Coronavirus, we are confined to working from home. For those of you working from home, today I have 6 tips for you. For a list of the expressions, I used in today’s episode see below. My 6 tips for working from home:Wake up with a normal routineMake a space in the house where you will workWrite a list of what you’ll do for the day and stick to itTake regular breaks away from your spaceMake sure you know how to use Skype or know how Google Hangouts worksSet boundaries between work and things that need to be done at home such as the cleaningHow can you keep talking to people in English (especially now that we are confined to our houses):Conversation ExchangeHello Talk AppiTalki Or try a teacher who gives skype lessons. I can help you out with skype lessons if you’re interested too. See my website and send me an email if you'd like to try www.artyanglais.com Expressions: getting the hang of it - to learn to handle something with some skillstick to a routine/ or stick to it - keep doing things as a routine go about your daily things - 'go about' is a phrasal verb which means begin or carry on withsporadically - occasionally or at irregular intervalsdesignated space - space especially for something stay in contact/stay in touch - contact people and talk to them set boundaries - the limits we set with people  Stay tuned this week for my Podcast English Lessons - something I wanted to give to my students as a way to keep learning English

Hey everyone, welcome to the Art of conversation with Arty Anglais. Today I'm talking about my top 3 travel experiences. Maybe it will give you some ideas too! Today's question comes from Conversation Starters World. I’ll talk about 3 places I have loved during my travels. I talk about my top three travel destinations:Oaxaca in Mexico Iceland The Penguin Parade on Phillip Island in AustraliaI'll tell you all about why I loved them and what happened during my trips. Links for each of the places:Oaxaca, Mexico The travel company I went through to visit the Sierra Norte and the Pueblos Mancomunados on a Sustainable Eco Tour. Don't judge me for my pronunciation of Pueblos Mancomunados! :(http://tierraventura.com/Iceland https://www.bluelagoon.com/https://www.extremeiceland.is/en/northern-lights-tours-icelandPenguin Parade https://www.penguins.org.au/attractions/penguin-parade/Expressions in Today's EpisodeSome of the expressions I used include:take someone up on something (advice) - listen to and follow someone's advice about something make the most of something - to do something or enjoy something as much as possibletoo much for me to handle - it was too hard (to eat)it was really too much - it was too hard (to eat) stopover - when you stop at a city between two flights make the most of something (the day) - to as many things as possible to enjoy it as much as you can close to my heart - dear to someone/to really like something

Hey Everyone,Welcome to a new episode of the Art of Conversation. Today I'm talking about the art of listening and why I think it's a winner for language learning! Firstly, listening provides you with the perfect opportunity to 'kill two birds with one stone' which means you'll be able to do two things at the same time while trying to improve your English. I tell all my students how important I believe listening is when it comes to learning a language. Of course, I think there are other aspects of language learning which are important too, however listening is the one thing you can do even if you think you don't have the time. I can guarantee you that you will find at least 10 minutes because there is always the option to do it while you're doing something else.   What are some of your favourite things to listen to in English?

Welcome back to The Arty Anglais Podcast. I'm so happy to be bringing you my first Episode for 2020. Happy New Year! In today's episode, I'm talking about women in art. I talk about the gender gap but  I try to talk about the positives also. You can find the transcript here.  So today I'm going to talk a little bit about: - An organisation who is promoting females in art called AWARE - A little about the reality for females in the art world (the statistics)- Some things that have been happening recently (so things that happened last year) to increase female artist exposure- My list of 6 female artists to share with you that I think are great and I feel need to be found by other people- Female artists in history and why they were underrepresented. As I have been doing at the start of the last few episodes, I'm also going to start with an artist statement from a street artist in Montpellier called Noon.See her facebook page here.  I really want to keep the trend going so after you listen to the episode I would love it if you could share with me your 5 women in art by tagging my Arty Anglais Instagram

Hey everyone, welcome to the Art of conversation with Arty Anglais. It’s been a while! I’ve been anywhere and everywhere the last two months and quite frankly I'm tired! I had ambitions to keep the podcast going, but time and resources were not my friends and I wanted to spend precious moments with my family. Then I got sick and that is definitely a wake-up call to be kinder to yourself! But here I am back again for 2020! Happy New Year everyone. I've missed you and of course, being in front of the microphone! Since I’ve been back in France I have lots to tell you but I’m going to keep it brief. What do I tell you today:What is happening in Australia with the fires and what I’m doing for Fundraising What I did when I was in Australia and some of the creative art and artists I saw:Mike Makaton, Adnate, The Keith Harring & Jean Michel Basquiat exhibition and I forgot to mention the amazing Silo in Fynsford, Geelong I saw by the very talented artist Role. Christmas in AustraliaHow my year startedGoals for 2020 with the podcast and my own French learningHow you can contribute to my fundraising with @tussockstudioHappy listening and I hope you have a wonderful year.Catch you all soonTara

Hey everyone, welcome to the Art of conversation with Arty Anglais. Since I’ve been back in Australia, I’ve been a little sick and I lost my voice! It’s only just come back without out me coughing. Today I decided to make an episode all about My motivations for another language (French) and what I do to learn it every day. Maybe it will give you some ideas too!Since I’ve been back in Australia for holidays, the most common questions people ask me is ‘How’s your French going?’ and then they ask me to say something in French! So I decided to make an episode about all the tools I use to make learning the language a part of my day.I’ll talk about:Having a teacher on Skype and why it’s important to find someone who you trust and knows your interestsUsing italkiHow I use podcastsHow you should make the most of every spare moment you have to listen to the languageHow I mix learning French with my Australian home in MelbourneWhy reading is a great way to build vocabulary and the types of things you can read; andUsing the Readlang app and reading blogsWhy you need to stop being a perfectionist!Some of the expressions I used include:doing something on a daily basis - doing something every daydoing bits and pieces - small fragments of something or a miscellaneous assortment of thingsin the meantime - until something expected happensmisconception - an idea that is wrong because it is based on a failure to understand a situationfew and far between -  not happening or existing very oftendowntime - time when you relax and do not very muchput that down to - if you put something down to a particular reason, you think it has happened for that reasonon top of that - in control of something and aware of changesto catch up for lunch - to see someone you haven’t seen for a whileeasier said than done - be more easily talked about than put into practice.You can listen to this podcast with the subtitles on youtube here.

Welcome to Episode 16 of The Arty Anglais Podcast. A podcast where we talk about art, culture and society to help you learn English naturally. You'll hear me talk about interesting topics, English expressions and English grammar in a different way so you can learn English in context.  My name is Tara and I am an English and Art teacher and I teach English and Art together to kids and teenagers, and I teach English to adults also. I love everything to do with art. I am a curious and creative teacher and an artist myself, so I love being able to bring these curiosities and fascinations with the creative world to my students. I also love speaking to artists and creative people about their stories and what they do.  I don't talk about just art history or the old art masters, the painters. Here I talk about what's going on now in the world around me about art.  Today I'm excited to share the second in a series of a few episodes about comics. In this second episode, I talk to Will Pleydon the artist of the comic Cul-de-sac. I spoke to the author Andrew in the previous Episode so if you haven't already heard it, check that one out too.  CuldeSac links : Comixology Facebook page I also share an artist statement from Will Pleydon and you can find his links here  Will Pleydon ArtWill Pleydon Instagram Will Pleydon Etsy   In the interview with Will I talk about his: History with comics and background in drawing Inspirations for drawing including some of the artists that have inspired him The materials he uses How he stayed motivated while making the comic  The characters and the process between the artist and author Some of the other art he creates You'll find the transcript for today's episode here along with vocabulary and a downloadable PDF booklet with some sample images from the comic and the full list of expressions and vocabulary. You'll need to sign up to be a member of the site but it's free to do so and we'll keep all your private information safe. Next time, we'll talk to Will Pleydon, the artist from the Comic. You can Follow Arty Anglais InstagramFacebookiTunesSpotifyYouTube (Podcast Episodes)

The Art of Conversation is a series of short 5-10 minutes episodes where I answer conversation topics from the Conversation Starters World website: I use this very often in my 1:1 English conversation classes with my students. This is to help give you some ideas about how a native speaker might answer questions. Each week I'll try to include in my natural speech different examples of grammar points, expressions and idioms. Today's question was inspired by thinking about how long it took me to fly to Australia! It's long guys! More than 24 hours! In this episode I'm going to answer the question: What is the worst place you've been stuck for a long time? jetlagged - when you have a temporary disruption of the body's normal biological rhythms after high-speed air travel through several time zones.stopover/layover - when you stop at an airport between two planes all up - all together I'm used to it - means you are still used or accustomed to doing it booked a trip/booked flights - bought tickets for travelling travel agent - a person who can book your flights figured something out - solve or discover the cause of a problemlittle did I know - used to say that there was something I didn't realise stress out - feeling stressed