Doo-be-doo-be-doo..Scooby Dooby Doo..Tu be du be du

Phrases, words, or even sounds can mean different things to different people.  Semantic differences are often due to the context in which the phrases, words or sounds are heard and this often determines our reactions to such messages.   For example, if someone coughs loudly in a hospital it might be easy to assume he or she is sick and we might feel sorry for that person.  On the other hand, if someone coughs loudly in a theatre during a play, we might think them inconsiderate and  have no sympathy for them. 

Differences in age, culture and even gender can also have an impact on how people make sense of the world.  These differences can influence whether someone associates a particular sound to one type of experience or another.  For example the sound, or text, "doo-be-doo-be-doo" is said by some to be made by people who are bored or feel the need to fill a silence.  Others may be reminded of the name of the animated character Scooby Doo because of the rhyming qualities of the introductory song for the series and Scooby's 'battle cry', "Scooby Dooby Doo (Where Are You?)".  Others may remember the sounds "doo-be-doo-be-doo" as part of the hummed section at the end of the classic Sinatra song 'Strangers In The Night'. 

Interestingly enough, the head of children's programming at CBS,  Fred Silverman, actually did come up with Scooby Doo's name from the syllables "doo-be-doo-be-doo" in Frank Sinatra's hit song "Strangers In The Night". 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scooby-Doo_(character)]

Here at www.tubedubedu.com we associate "doo-be-doo-be-doo" with "tu-be-du-be-du" = tubedubedu = Tube Dub Edu(cation).

Disclaimer: The owner of this website does not claim ownership or control of any of the content accessed via the links on this site.  Consequently the owner of this site is not responsible for any changes to or unexpected content found at these links.  The owner of this website has no control over the continued availability of such content and cannot be held responsible for discontinued availability. Users of this site are expected to have read and agreed to these conditions and are especially advised to check content via links before use in the classroom.

The Big Bang Theory - second conditional sentences.

Watch the clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJF9Gb3dGbc&feature=related

This video shows snippets from the comedy series 'The Big Bang Theory' which focus on use of second conditional sentences.  Although the second conditional is often taught to intermediate level EFL students, these clips in general demand a higher level of English as well as knowledge and undersatnding of US culture to be fully understood.  Having said that, students familiar with the culture could find these snippets quite funny.  Although the conditional sentences are subtitled, the language that surrounds them could be problematic to intermediate or lower level students.

If students are simply required to analyse the structure of the highlighted sentences this could easily be achieved by  intermediate level students, partly because of the subtitles.  The video could even be paused at appropriate spots in order to let the weaker students think about them for longer.  If this is the intended course of action, students should be exposed to the sentence structure and given sentence examples before watching the video.

This is an opportunity to listen to the language in context, to analyze sentence structure and perhaps, for stronger students, to discuss that context a little further.  

Watch the clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJF9Gb3dGbc&feature=related

Disclaimer: The owner of this website does not claim ownership or control of any of the content accessed via the links on this site.  Consequently the owner of this site is not responsible for any changes to or unexpected content found at these links.  The owner of this website has no control over the continued availability of such content and cannot be held responsible for discontinued availability. Users of this site are expected to have read and agreed to these conditions and are especially advised to check content via links before use in the classroom.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding: she don’t wanna get married!

Watch the clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnm9KYyc0B8&NR=1&feature=endscreen

This clip is from the movie 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'.  In it, the Greek extended family is discussing the future of the unmarried daughter of one of the main characters.  Although the young woman is a Greek American, the family suggests sending her to Greece, their homeland, to find a husband.  They are concerned about her increasing age and lack of eligibility for marriage.  The daughter has shown no interest in going to Greece or even looking for a husband.  The family is so shocked by the realization that she might not want to get married that they cross themselves, as if hoping the religious gesture will protect them from such a perverse idea.   

The student language levels required for this clip are not as demanding as the concepts behind the humour and the cultural values.  The scaffolding required to understand these concepts through the medium of English and the ability to later discuss the clip does demand that learners have at least intermediate levels of English.

A lead-in activity could be a discussion about attitudes to marriage, or perhaps more relevant to the clip a comparison in attitude between first generation immigrants and their children who are born into a different culture, as is the case for the daughter in this movie.

Click here to buy the DVD My Big Fat Greek Wedding. 

Watch the clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnm9KYyc0B8&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Disclaimer: The owner of this website does not claim ownership or control of any of the content accessed via the links on this site.  Consequently the owner of this site is not responsible for any changes to or unexpected content found at these links.  The owner of this website has no control over the continued availability of such content and cannot be held responsible for discontinued availability. Users of this site are expected to have read and agreed to these conditions and are especially advised to check content via links before use in the classroom.

Bored or Boring?

What does this billboard say about you?  Is it positive or negative?  The words bored and boring are both used as adjectives, but which would you prefer to be described as?  Are you bored or are you boring? 

Take a look at this link and then decide for yourself:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/askaboutenglish/2010/04/100601_aae_bored.shtml

Most people wouldn't want to be described as boring as this is a reflection of how other people see them.  I expect most would prefer to be referred to as interesting, rather than boring.  If you are bored it may be because of something like a boring lesson, a boring movie, a boring location, etc.

Disclaimer: The owner of this website does not claim ownership or control of any of the content accessed via the links on this site.  Consequently the owner of this site is not responsible for any changes to or unexpected content found at these links.  The owner of this website has no control over the continued availability of such content and cannot be held responsible for discontinued availability. Users of this site are expected to have read and agreed to these conditions and are especially advised to check content via links before use in the classroom.

Coronation Street- post attack melt-down

Watch this clip at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ3gJRthl9M&feature=BFa&list=PLD8F3F0F5381EE487&lf=results_main

This clip is taken from a long-standing British tv soap: Coronation Street.  A cast of stereotypical everyday characters live in the street living so-called normal lives.  Of course, to keep the story flowing there is something happening all the time.  This clip shopws the aftermath of an incident where one of the girls has lost money to a culprit who is now on the run.  It gives an opportunity for intermediate and above EFL students to listen to colloquial English terms such as 'scumbag', 'bottle something up' and 'psychobabble' spoken in regional British English accents.  There are also British cultural references to the constant supply of  tea and one of its reported benefits. For students of intercultural communication the relationships and attitudes expressed between the family members might also be interesting.

Click here to buy DVDs of Coronation Street.

Watch this clip at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ3gJRthl9M&feature=BFa&list=PLD8F3F0F5381EE487&lf=results_main 

Disclaimer: The owner of this website does not claim ownership or control of any of the content accessed via the links on this site.  Consequently the owner of this site is not responsible for any changes to or unexpected content found at these links.  The owner of this website has no control over the continued availability of such content and cannot be held responsible for discontinued availability. Users of this site are expected to have read and agreed to these conditions and are especially advised to check content via links before use in the classroom.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Meet The Family

Watch the clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3N5V9ml2VU&feature=related

This is a 5 minute clip from the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  In the clip the new non-Greek boyfriend is introduced for the first time to the whole (collectivist / polychronic) family of his Greek American girlfriend.  In particular at the end of the clip he meets one of the Greek aunts for the first time who, after spending a while touching the boyfriend’s hair, responds quite dramatically to the fact that the boyfriend is a vegetarian.

The main focus of this humorous clip is the cultural comparisons between stereotypical Greek culture and stereotypical mainstream American culture.  The aunt physically touching the man’s hair towards the end of the clip is something worth discussing.  The importance of meat in the Greek diet is exaggerated as well when the aunt is shocked that the boyfriend doesn’t eat meat but then, considering the options available for feeding the boyfriend, casually dismisses lamb as a non-meat dish and goes on to dance as though nothing had happened.

The student language levels required of this clip are not as demanding as the concepts behind the humour and the cultural values.  The scaffolding required to understand these concepts through the medium of English and the ability to later discuss the clip does demand at least intermediate levels of English.

The lead up to watching this clip could indeed be an introduction to collectivist / polychronic versus individualist / monochronic cultures, with particular emphasis on Greek versus American.  A discussion of examples of relevant cultural traits shown in the clip could be a follow-up activity.  For more analysis of culture in this film follow this link: http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/docs/files-folder111111/48_2-etf-intercultural-training-with-films.pdf

Accents also play a role in the clip and this could perhaps be explored in a lesson with a pronunciation focus.

Watch the clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3N5V9ml2VU&feature=related

Click here to buy the DVD My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Disclaimer: The owner of this website does not claim ownership or control of any of the content accessed via the links on this site.  Consequently the owner of this site is not responsible for any changes to or unexpected content found at these links.  The owner of this website has no control over the continued availability of such content and cannot be held responsible for discontinued availability. Users of this site are expected to have read and agreed to these conditions and are especially advised to check content via links before use in the classroom.

Joy Luck Club - Dining Disaster

See this clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t82eWkb_tM&feature=related 

This video clip is from the well-known movie The Joy Luck Club: a film about intergenerational conflict between Chinese immigrants and their Chinese American children.  In this clip the American born daughter takes her traditional American boyfriend for dinner to her parents’ home. During the dinner a number of situations arise that sometimes suggest significant differences in cultural values between the boyfriend and the girl’s parents.

The clip is made easier for students in terms of language because of the addition of subtitles.  Learners at pre-intermediate level should manage a general understanding because of this.  The visual element also helps the viewer appreciate the problems that occur for the boyfriend during the meal.  However to fully appreciate the possible reasons for the cross-cultural conflict that occurs, a lot of language scaffolding might be needed. 

For further analysis of the cross-cultural issues visit: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/tan.html

http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/docs/files-folder111111/48_2-etf-intercultural-training-with-films.pdf

Because of the visual support provided for students this video clip could form the foundation for discussion at pre-intermediate level up to advanced level although the level and focus of analysis would vary significantly.  At pre-intermediate level, students could be asked questions about what happened, who did what, how people responded etc.   In other words the focus is simply reporting what was observed and is language-based.  Practice using the past simple tense seems one possible focus area for language.  However, at upper-intermediate levels the concepts of cross-cultural conflict could be explored, with students suggesting reasons for the incidents that occur during the dinner rather than simply reporting what they saw.  A follow-up activity could be to construct a list of do’s and don’ts, perhaps using conditional sentences, for anyone about to face a similar, or slightly different, experience.

See this clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t82eWkb_tM&feature=related

Disclaimer: The owner of this website does not claim ownership or control of any of the content accessed via the links on this site.  Consequently the owner of this site is not responsible for any changes to or unexpected content found at these links.  The owner of this website has no control over the continued availability of such content and cannot be held responsible for discontinued availability. Users of this site are expected to have read and agreed to these conditions and are especially advised to check content via links before use in the classroom.