• "World Wide William - A Shakespeare Project" by Iwona Filip

• "Finding Proverbs on the Web" by Shiao-Chuan Kung

Foreign Language Teaching Centre

Maria Curie-Sklodowska University

Lublin, Poland

iwafilip@yahoo.com

This project may last 3 lessons 45 minutes each or twice as long. It depends on the complexity and the length of the exercises students are given. Its main goal is to raise students' interest in the Anglo-Saxon culture. What you need is Shakespeare URLs, CD-ROM or online dictionaries, worksheets (which may be prepared traditionally in paper or as computer documents) with questions about Shakespeare, his epoch, life and works. After completing the project teachers can check their students' knowledge on the subject by asking them to do a Shakespeare quiz at

http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/quiz/quiz.htm,
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/quiz/ or
http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/quiz/bioquiz.htm.

Level: intermediate and above

Time: two 45-minute lessons

Aims:

• to obtain information about Shakespeare's life, works and epoch
• to practise selecting information and note taking

Warm up

Write William Shakespeare on the board and ask students about any associations with this name. Put their ideas on the board. They will probably be familiar with Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, or Shakespeare in Love as the titles of well-known films. Elicit terms connected with theatre and literature such as: drama, comedy, tragedy, playwright, acting, scene, play, plot, protagonist, narrator, etc. or names of Shakespeare's plays, names of characters from his plays or names of places like Stratford- upon- Avon or the Globe. Tell your students that they are starting a project on Shakespeare and their task will be to find specific information about Shakespeare's life and his works on the Internet. Go through this stage quickly.

Write on the board the topics which particular groups are going to work on (alternatively you can have them prepared beforehand and use an overhead projector or an interactive board) e.g.

1. Biography & Epoch – group A
2. Shakespeare's works – group B
3. Shakespeare in translation + Shakespeare & the cinema – group C

Students are given worksheets on which they should write down the answers clearly because after they finish they will be asked to swap their information with the other groups. Each member of the group needs to have their own answers!!! Assign a time limit. Divide the class into groups. Choose a time keeper in each group. Distribute the handouts or ask students to open the computer documents. Students turn on the computers and work on their questions. Suggested addresses for specific groups:

group A

www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/,
http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/timeline/timeline.htm,
www.shakespeare-online.com,
www.elizabethi.org/elizabethiprofile,
www.biography.com
www.royal.gov.uk,
www.bartleby.com

The questions may cover important dates in Shakespeare's life, his family, birthplace, his stay in London, his contemporaries, Elizabeth I, the Tudor Dynasty, Renaissance theatre, literature etc.

William Shakespeare – Worksheet A student’s name______________

Go to one of the following addresses and answer the questions.

www.shakespeare-online.com, http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/timeline/timeline.htm, http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/
springfield/eliz/ShakespeareBiog.html, http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/Globe.html

1. What nationality was Shakespeare?
2. When and where was he born?
3. When and where did he die?
4. Where did he live?
5. What was his father's name?
6. What was his mother's name?
7. Did he have any brothers or sisters?
8. What sort of education did he have?
9. What was his wife's name and where did she live?
10. How many children did they have and what were their names?
11. What did he do for a living, what was his job?
12. What was the Globe?
13. When was it built?

Go to the following web sites: www.elizabethi.org/elizabethiprofile, http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/
introelizperiod.html

Answer the following questions.

1. Which British monarch ruled at the time of Shakespeare?
2. What nationality was she?
3. What was her full name?
4. When was she born and when did she die?
5. What was her father's name?
6. What was her mother's name?
7. Was she married?
8. What was Shakespeare's relationship with her?
9. What are the two names of Shakespeare's times?
10. a) E___________ ______________

group B

http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/,
www.shakespeare-online.com, http://absoluteshakespeare.com/index.htm, http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLT/ideas/ideassubj.html, http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/
eliz/shakespeare.html

Students may be asked to divide Shakespeare's plays into tragedies, comedies, histories, or write down the titles of all Shakespeare’s plays. The questions may relate to the ideas e.g. Supernatural, such themes in his works as love, revenge, or specific characters from his plays. Students can be enquired about Shakespeare's poetry like sonnets or poems.

William Shakespeare – Worksheet B Student's name___________________

Go to one of these addresses and write down titles of Shakespeare's plays.

http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/ (bottom page chart), www.shakespeare-online.com, http://absoluteshakespeare.com/index.htm

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10.

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10.

Go to http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/4081/Sonnets.html and answer the following questions.

1.What is a Shakespearean sonnet?________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

2.How does it rhyme?_______________________________________________

3. How many lines does it have?____________________________________

4. What is iambic pentameter?______________________________________

5. What is the rhyming couplet?____________________________________

6. What is a sonnet usually about?_________________________________

7. How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?_________________________

8. Choose a sonnet and recognise its characteristic features; write a number of the sonnet you analysed. _________________________

Go to www.ludweb.com/poetry/, http://absoluteshakespeare.com/index.htm and write down the titles of the poems.

1.

2.

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5.

group C

http://web.pertus.com.pl/~mysza/hamlet/index.html, http://www.medianet.com.pl/~kubik/paszkeng.htm, http://wiem.onet.pl/wiem/0075a0.html http://wiem.onet.pl/wiem/0074fe.html, http://www.ifb.com.pl/yennefer/szekspir/dziela.html

The above addresses deal with Polish translations as the project was originally designed for Polish students. They may be asked to note down the names of Polish translators and find out more information about the most famous ones e.g. Stanislaw Baranczak, Jozef Paszkowski, Maciej Slomczynski. Students can look for the Polish titles of Shakespeare’s plays.

William Shakespeare -Worksheet C student’s name_______________

Go to http://web.pertus.com.pl/~mysza/hamlet/index.html and find names of Polish translators

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2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

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8.

Go to http://www.medianet.com.pl/~kubik/paszkeng.htm, http://wiem.onet.pl/wiem/0075a0.html, http://wiem.onet.pl/wiem/0074fe.html and answer the following questions:

1. When was J. Paszkowski born and when did he die?______________________
2. When was M. Slomczynski born and did he die? ________________________
3. When was S. Baranczak born? _________________
4. Which famous American university does Baranczak work at? ______________________

Go to http://www.ifb.com.pl/yennefer/szekspir/dziela.html and find Polish titles for:

1. All's Well That Ends Well _____________________________________________

2. The Tempest _____________________________________________________

3. The Comedy of Errors _________________________________________________

4. The Winter's Tale _____________________________________________________

5.The Taming of the Shrew _______________________________________________

6. Pericles Prince of Tyre _________________________________________________

7. The Two Gentlemen of Verona __________________________________________

8. Measure for Measure __________________________________________________

9. Love's Labour's Lost __________________________________________________

10. A Midsummer Night's Dream __________________________________________

11. Twelfth Night _______________________________________________________

12. The Merchant of Venice ______________________________________________

13. As You Like It ______________________________________________________

14. The Merry Wives of Windsor __________________________________________

15. Much Ado About Nothing ____________________________________________

As far as films based on Shakespeare’s plays are concerned students go to http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/films/films.htm and note: year of production, names of directors, actors, the earliest film, the latest film etc.

William Shakespeare – Worksheet C

Shakespeare and the cinema

Go to http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/films/films.htm and fill in the chart.

Find the earliest adaptation (1929) and the latest one (2000).

1.____________________________________________

2.____________________________________________

Create new groups in which there will be at least one member from the previous groups. Students swap their information taking turns. Emphasise the importance of taking notes.

To check if they swapped the information ask random students any questions from the worksheets. Ask student A a question from worksheet B etc. To check correct pronunciation of names, places, or titles of plays let the students read them aloud.

Students reflect on the lesson. Suggested questions: Have you learned anything new about Shakespeare? Which fact surprised you most? Which item was the most interesting for you? Which of Shakespeare's plays would you like to read or watch? Would you like to live in Shakespeare's times? Did you enjoy the lesson?

Level: upper-intermediate and above

Time: one or two 45 minute lessons

Aim: to practice translating English classics from English into Polish

Original texts of Shakespeare's plays online (it would be convenient to have the extracts for the translation chosen beforehand), famous writers' translations online, CD-ROM or online dictionaries will be useful.

Just to remind some basic information on Shakespeare's translations, revise briefly students' knowledge from the Surfing for Shakespeare lesson (the titles of translated plays, names of translators, etc.)

Students translate extracts from Shakespeare's plays. Having done this, they compare their peer translations. Next their works are compared to the versions of the renowned authors.

Suggested addresses that can be used:

www.m-w.com - the Internet dictionary, http://web.pertus.com.pl/~mysza/hamlet/index.html, http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/, www.shakespeare-online.com, http://absoluteshakespeare.com/index.htm

Students choose the best peer translations. The translations can be published in a school magazine, or alternatively their works can be printed out and the copies can be displayed on the boards in your school.

Level: upper-intermediate and above

Time: one or two 45 minute lessons

Aims:

• to enhance students' creativeness
• to work towards understanding poetry

Shakespeare URLs will be needed to find texts of his sonnets and some theory on a sonnet structure. CD-ROM or online dictionaries will be useful. Ask students if they like poetry and what their favourite poets or poems are. Tell them that they are going to read and write sonnets during this lesson.

Divide your students into pairs. Provide them with questions concerning structure and themes of Shakespearean sonnets e.g. How many sonnets did he write? What are they about? How does a sonnet rhyme? How many lines are there in a sonnet? What is iambic pentameter? etc. Suggested addresses: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/4081/Sonnets.html, www.m-w.com – online dictionary

Choose one of Shakespeare's sonnets e.g. the one numbered 18 and analyse it with the whole class. Students try to find all characteristic features of a Shakespearean sonnet.

Students work in pairs or individually - let them choose this time! Tell them that they are supposed to write a Shakespearean sonnet now.

Students read their sonnets aloud. Put the sonnets on their class or school websites, publish them in a school magazine, or alternatively print them out and display the copies on the boards in your school.

As a follow up to this project you can take your students on a virtual tour of the Globe at http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/home.htm. A lot of information about the past and the present of the Globe can be found there. Educational and distance learning links offer useful material for Internet lessons. It is also possible to study the historical background of Shakespeare's times thoroughly. Many valuable items about the Tudor Dynasty can be found at www.royal.gov.uk. The reign and life of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I would be worth exploring. Additionally numerous facts concerning well known institutions and places e.g. Royal Palaces are accessible at http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/home.asp. If your students are interested in religion and would like to learn about the Church of England, they should go to http://www.england.anglican.org. You may also prepare a lesson about famous historical figures and events of the period e.g. the six wives of Henry the VIII, Bloody Mary, Sir Francis Drake, etc. based on the following website: http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/histevents.html.

On the whole, the Internet is packed with Shakespeare items. Teachers who are enthusiastic about the Bard can create thousands of wonderful Internet lessons. For the ideas and materials to be used in their classes they may consult Mr William Shakespeare and the Internet http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/, which is a great source for links to Internet Shakespeare sites.

English Department

Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

sckung@mail.wtuc.edu.tw

Proverbs represent the collected wisdom of a nation. They are one of the most colorful aspects of a culture. For the student of a foreign language, comparing the proverbs of the target culture and one's own is a worthwhile if not enlightening experience. This lesson seeks to familiarize ESL/EFL students with some proverbs in the English language as well as to introduce students to two advertisement-free websites designed for them. These two web sites, Interesting Things for ESL Students (http://www.manythings.org) and Activities for ESL Students (http://a4esl.org/), contain interactive grammar and vocabulary quizzes, word games, and sentence puzzles. They also have collections of proverbs, slang expressions, and other study materials. Both sites are well-organized, optimized for speed, and free of advertising. The webpages are pleasing to the eye and the information easy to find. Teachers can integrate the materials at these sites into a curriculum or recommend them to students for use for studying on their own.

Level: intermediate

Time: 2 hours

Materials: computers with a Web browser and Internet access. Depending on the number of computers available and the size of the class, students can work individually or in teams of two or three.

1. Introduce the lesson by asking the students to complete the proverb "You can't tell a book by its…" If the students do not know the answer, encourage them to come up with some reasonable guesses. Possible answers for this proverb could be "title" or "author" or "color." Point out that in this example the missing word has to be a noun.
2. Give half the class worksheet A and the other half worksheet B. (This will prevent the entire class from accessing the same webpages at the same time when they are online.)
3. Ask students to analyze the part of speech of the missing words and to fill in the blanks with plausible, creative guesses. Allow 15 minutes for students to share their predictions.
4. Have the students launch their web browsers and point to the web site http://www.manythings.org/proverbs/.
5. Demonstrate how to locate the answer to "You can't tell a book by its…" (The proverbs are organized in alphabetical order at the site.)
6. While the students complete the assignment, circulate around the classroom commenting on the students' guesses and addressing technical difficulties.
7. Allow 10 minutes for students who completed worksheet A to share their answers with students who worked on version B.
8. Ask students to check their knowledge of proverbs by doing the online quiz at http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/quizzes/js/ck/ma-proverbs.html.
9. As a follow-up activity or homework, ask students to write a story illustrating a proverb of their choice. They should include the proverb so that after sharing it with a fellow classmate or the entire class, the other student/s can guess which proverb the author meant.

Use the information on the website
http://www.manythings.org/proverbs to complete the following proverbs

1. All is fair in love and ___________.
2. A/an ___________ a day keeps the doctor away.
3. April showers brings May ___________.
4. Blood is thicker than ___________.
5. Don’t count your chickens before they are ___________.
6. Don't go near the water until you learn to ___________.
7. Don't put all your eggs in one ___________.
8. Early to bed and early to bed, make a man healthy, wealthy and ___________.
9. Every picture tells a ___________.
10. It is no use crying over spilt ___________.

Find a proverb that conveys the same idea as a proverb in your native language. Explain the similarities and differences between the proverb in English and in your mother tongue.

______________________________________

______________________________________

______________________________________

Use the information on the website
http://www.manythings.org/proverbs to complete the following proverbs 

1. Keep your mouth shut and your ___________ open.
2. Look before you ___________.
3. Make ___________ while the sun shines.
4. No pain, no ___________.
5. Out of sight, out of ___________.
6. The early bird catches the ___________.
7. The grass is always greener on the other side of the ___________.
8. There are two sides to every ___________.
9. Too many cooks spoil the ___________.
10. When in Rome, do as the ___________ do.

Find a proverb that conveys the same idea as a proverb in your native language. Explain the similarities and differences between the proverb in English and in your mother tongue.

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

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