Twilight: Promoting Abusive Relationships and Female Submission

Practice your English by reading this interesting article - Twilight: Promoting abusive relationships and female submission.

This thought-provoking article uses a check list provided by The National Domestic Violence Hotline (of America), to critique the relationship between Bella and her vampire boyfriend.

The check list is designed to help you determine if you are in an abusive relationship.  There are 15 questions on the check list.  If you answer 'yes' to any one of them, you may be in an abusive relationship.  Bella's relationship answers 'yes' to all of them.

The article's author suggests that the girls who watch this movie (and presumably read the book), will get "the idea that a seriously unhealthy relationship is somehow the equivalent of love".

I can honestly say, and I'm a little ashamed to admit, that these observations had never occurred to me.  I am particularly surprised, as the story is so popular with girls.

If you want to read the original article, you can find it here.

Interview with Snoop Dogg

Practice your English by reading a Q&A Session with Snoop Dogg.

Q&A stands for Question & Answer.

It's a great idea to experience every type of English.  My most favorite thing about English is the range of creativity within it.

But don't let it confuse you.  Remember if you're not sure, don't say it.  Keep your English simple and clear.

The 99 Most Jaw-Dropping Movie Moments

Practice your English with the 99 most jaw-dropping movie moments.


You get a mixture of video and text from 99 different movies of different genres, so surely something for everyone here.


If you haven't seen one of the films listed; and intend to, it's probably best to miss that video out.  It might spoil your enjoyment of the movie, when you do see it.

30 Killer Movie Closing Lines

Practice your English by watching this collection of 30 Killer Movie Closing Lines.

I love the ending to Sunset Boulevard:  'All right, Mr De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up'.  Wonderful, insane, haunting end to a fantastic piece of classic old Hollywood.

Interview with the Director of Twilight Saga: Full Moon

Practice your English by watching an interview with the director of Twilight Saga: Full Moon.

In the video, you get a mixture of 'face to face' interview with the director and clips from the movie.

I'm not the biggest fan of these movies; though I do admit, the lead vampire is a sassy guy.

James Cameron Interview: On his own Movies

Practice your English by reading what James Cameron has to say about his movies!

If you'd like to see the trailer for James Cameron's newest film Avatar, you can find it here.

I don't know why, but they've missed out True Lies.

Top Gear Test a Toyota Pick-Up Truck

Practice your English by watching the BBC's Top Gear program test how strong a Toyota Pick-Up Truck is.

Top Gear is a great way to practice your English: all three presenters speak quite clearly (although a little fast at times).  They are very careful to explain things, before they do them.  The show is also very visual so, even if you don't understand every that is being said, it's still very enjoyable.

I love Top Gear's mix of genuine enthusiasm for all things car related, surprisingly bang on social commentary and totally & utter stupidity.  As the presenters themselves put it: the usual mix of fast cars and middle aged men falling over.

NME's 'Top 50 Albums of the Noughties'

Practice your English with 'NME's Top 50 Albums of the Noughties'.

My favorite album of the noughties (2000 - 2009) is William Shatner's album 'Has Been'.  I don't see it in the list... I wonder why?

Ok, so really my favorite album is probably Snow Patrol's 'Eyes Open', but Shatner's album will always have a special place in my heart.

New Avatar Trailer

Practice your English by watching the new trailer for James Cameron's latest 'Avatar'.

There is also some written text about the trailer, which you can read.  See if it matches you're understanding of what you saw.

Love him or hate him, you've got to admit: James Cameron knows how to make a blockbuster movie.  I think 'Aliens' lines up as my favorite, followed closely by the original 'Terminator'.

Mariah Carey Quotes

Practice your English with some Mariah Carey quotes.

Not the biggest fan of Miss Carey, if I'm perfectly honest.  She is though, no doubt, a proper diva.  Never been a fan of celebrities, who know what planet their on. 

Having said that, Mariah does know what planet she's on: Planet Mariah.

I Hate You Day

I think negative emotions are not recognized enough by modern society.  I think one of the reasons so many of us suffer from depression, is because we are under so much pressure to be nice and positive all the time. 

For example: they are lots of days in the calender when you can tell someone how much you love them, but there are no days when you can tell someone how much you hate them.

I think we need a 'I Hate You Day': a day when it is socially acceptable to tell someone how much you hate them.

 
We could have 'I hate you' cards.  We could have chocolates in the shape of a hand 'flipping you the bird'.  We could create an entire new economy based on 'I hate you' products.

One day a year to release all our negative feelings about each other:  that person who bullied you at school, the ex boyfriend or girlfriend who just stopped calling, the boss who never took any of your ideas seriously. 

We all have people in our past who, for one reason or another, hurt us deeply; but, because it's so long ago, we no longer feel it is socially acceptable to keep telling them.  We need a day for that.

 
Ok.. so it probably wouldn't work so well for people who are presently in our lives, but for those past people: imagine how therapeutic it would be to have one day, when it was ok to tell someone you hate them.

Practice your English & Kick Ass!

Practice your English and kick ass: The Trailer for the movie 'Kick Ass' is here.

Watching movies is a great way to practice your English: you get to hear the language as it is spoken by native speakers, you get to hear a lot of idiom and expression, and it's a lot more interesting than your average text book!

If you're worried about your English level being too low to watch movies yet, try watching the film with English subtitles: hearing and reading the language at the same time will make it easier for you to understand.

Another trick is not to be too hard on yourself.  When I watch films in French (Oui, Je parle un peu de français), I don't worry about understanding every detail.  As long as I understand the general story, I'm happy.

Get Ski Fit!

Practice your English and get fit with the Guardian's guide 'Get Ski Fit'.

Reading instruction and explanation is a good way to improve your English.  A lot of the vocabulary you read here will help you to explain yourself in many different situations.

Doing something else at the same time as practicing your English can really make it easier to practice regularly!

Gordon Ramsay's World Kitchen

Practice your English with this video of Gordon Ramsay cooking a Greek White Bean & Vegetable Soup.

The video is followed by a small collection of different recipes you can try: Garlic Prawns, Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, Spinach & Feta Filo Rolls, Buffalo Chicken Wings with Sour Cream & Chive Dip, Courgette, Feta & Herb Fritters, Dolmades, Tabbouleh and Baba Ganoush.


This is a great example of how you can practice your English with, really, anything!  You don't need to stick to academic practice or business publications, if you don't want to.  A lot of the 'connecting & explaining' language you find here, is just as applicable in business as it is in recipes.

The most important thing is to enjoy your English! 

40 Years of Sesame Street

The excellent American TV show Sesame Street is 40 years old.  You can check out the BBC article and video here.

For a different take on the anniversary, Ricky Gervais interviewing Elmo.

40 years of entertaining children, helping them to read and write is a thing to celebrated.  Personally, my favorite character was always The Count: One!  Ha Ha Ha!  Two!  Ha Ha Ha!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

As I have already posted on my facebook pages and explained on my blogs in the sidebar, I'll now be posting English culture links here on my TobytheTeacher blog.

If you want General & Business English and English @nswers, you can easily visit the other blogs by clicking on the links in the sidebar.


Let's start today with a list of quotes from one of my favorite movies:  Sergio Leone's 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'.

You can check out the trailer for the movie here on youtube.  I have to say, I've never liked the trailers for Sergio's films.  They never do the films justice, but you do get a sense of the scope of the movie.