In this week’s club, we are talking about “Music” This is a great moment to get to know the other Conversation Club members, and to practice speaking a wide variety of arguments, which will also help you increase your vocabulary and improve your comprehension skills.
All mpec courses are based on Conversation, Communication and Interaction and our main goal is to give our students the confidence to approach any topic or idea in English. In this week’s Club, other than practicing speaking English, our goal is to find and learn new vocabulary and put it to use immediately…
Some Expressions
- To be preaching to the choir – (May have it’s origins in trying to convince people who were at church to come to church) this means that you are trying, pointlessly, to convince someone of an opinion that they already agree with: “There’s no need to tell me, you’re preaching to the choir.”
- To blow your own trumpet – (probably from medieval times when important guests were announced with trumpets) this means to ‘brag’ about yourself, to tell people how good you are at something: “During an interview, there is nobody else there to talk about you, so you have to blow your own trumpet.”
- To be like a broken record – we use this expression to describe someone who repeatedly says the same thing, like an old vinyl disc where the needle keeps skipping back and you hear the same part over and over again: “I had dinner with John last night; he’s still only talking about cryptocurrencies, he’s like a broken record.
- To play it by ear – (musically, this means to listen to music and then try to play it or improvise it) this expression is used to say that you don’t have any plans, that you will simply see what happens and then decide what to do: “I don’t know what they’re going to say in the meeting, I can’t plan for it, I’m going to have to play it by ear.”
- Music to my ears – We say this when we hear something that really pleases us, something we are happy to hear: “They’ve accepted your proposal!! – Wow, that’s music to my ears!”
- Change your tune – this expression is used to suggest that someone has, or needs to, change their opinion or behaviour in a significant way: “Initially, Tom said there was no way he would work for them, but when he saw how much money they were offering, he quickly changed his tune.”
We are in tune with each other.
- To be in tune with someone – to be in agreement or sympathy with someone
- To Tune an instrument – to adjust the instument so that all of the notes is plays are correct.
- To sing (or Be) in tune – to sing with the correct notes
- To sing (or Be) out of tune – to sing with incorrect notes or maybe flat notes.
- A tune – a melody, especially one that characterizes a particular piece of music.
Your Music
- Do you like music? What’s your favourite type?
- What music do you not like? Why?
- Can you, or have you ever played a musical instrument? What?
- Would you like to learn to play an instrument? Which one?
- Do you have a good ear for music or are you tone deaf?
The effect of music.
- Does music have the power to change your mood? How does music affect you?
- If you are feeling sad, is there a particular song you listen to? What is it, and why that song?
- Why do you think music is so important to every culture in the world?
- If you could choose to be an amazing singer or wonderful musician (instrument of your choice) which would you choose and why?
Encore
- Do you like going to live concerts? Why, why not?
- Why do you think music can make us emotional?
- Do you have any memories connected to specific songs? Tell us about them.
- Do you think music is something relaxes the brain or makes the brain hyperactive? Why?
All mpec students are welcome to join our Conversation Club Zoom Sessions which take place every Tuesday, 6pm to 6.30 pm and Thursday from 1 to 1.30 pm from October to June. If you are not a part of the mpec community yet, please get in touch with us and we will partner with you to create the right course for your needs and goals. Live English Courses via Streaming
Self Study Suggestion:
Two short TED talks: One about how we listen, and one explaining how music affects the brain.
