Dear Teacher,
It has been almost one year since Michael Jackson’s untimely death on 25th June 2009, and two of this month’s new worksheets on www.tuneintoenglish.com pay homage to the King Of Pop.
The first, tying in nicely with World Environment Day on 5th June, is Earth Song, Jackson’s tribute to our planet, and its problems. Submitted by Simonetta Gatto, Casella (GE), the students are asked to reflect on the damage man has done to the environment – this is particularly pertinent given the current situation in the Gulf of Mexico. For more information on World Environment Day, visit www.unep.org. Also, the students of the Scuola Media “Ugo Foscolo” in Turin have prepared a wonderful Save Our Planet board game, which you can access here.
The second addition is You Are Not Alone, Jackson’s record breaker (the first ever song to enter the U.S.A.’s Billboard Hot 100 at number one). Laura Casolero from Grumo Nevano (NA) has contributed a worksheet focussing on phonetics.
This month’s Speak Up features an article on Jesus Christ Superstar, and Mena Bianco (Naples) has written an excellent worksheet for Judas’ song Heaven On Their Minds. A self study version of this song is also available on the Students’ Area of the Tune Into English site, as well as on www.speakuponline.it.
Mena has asked me to point out that Aung San Suu Kyi turns 65 on 19th June. The worksheet for Walk On, U2’s tribute to Bruma’s democratically elected leader, under house arrest since 1990, is both in the Downloadable Worksheets section and on www.amnesty.it.
You can sing along with the UK Top 10 Charts on the Speak Up site – updated weekly, there is a link on the Tune Home page too.
The Karaoke page of Tune Into English now features over 6,500 songs, including all those mentioned in this newsletter (and over 40 songs by Michael Jackson or the Jackson 5).
Teachers at the Scuola Superiore di I° Grado may be interested in Up To You!, ELI’s holiday book, consolidating and revising vocabulary and structures presented during the year. Written by Kavanagh and Morris, you can read more about this by following the link on www.tuneintoenglish.com.
The Tune Into English Roadshow had its final performance in Rome on 4th June – thank you to all who have hosted the Roadshow this year, and for all the wonderful feedback I have had. The music of Michael Jackson was, of course, a central part of the show – you can see how in some of the videos on Tune Into English’s facebook page. In addition you can see photos and videos from over 150 shows.
A very special thank you to the students of the Viviani (San Marco Evangelista, CE) and the Suor Orsola Benincasa (Naples) for the wonderful drawings they sent me following the Tune Into English Roadshow for Kids at their schools in April. You can see these on the Comments or the Primary Roadshow page.
Finally, the Tune Into English T-shirt will still be available at a special reduced price for the month of June – click on the link on www.tuneintoenglish.com. This essential addition to your and your students’ wardrobe is made of high quality material and features the Tune logo.
One month to go before the holidays! The Tune Into English newsletter will return in September, but in the meantime check out the facebook page for updates. Have a great Summer – you deserve it!
Best wishes,
Fergal Kavanagh
Tune Into English
www.tuneintoenglish.com
