English Conversation Classes with TED Creativity, Music and Language

English Conversation Classes with TED Creativity, Music and Language Two things I have always been fascinated with are music and language. Ive been writing in some form or another since I was young, studied English at university, and worked as a journalist before teaching. I have also played guitar for about 15 years now, and particularly enjoy improvising music on the guitar with other musicians.In this TED video, Charles Limb, a brain surgeon and musician, talks about scientifically looking at creative genius, by looking at the brains of improvising musicians with scanners, while they are creating.Its a fascinating video, bringing up questions about the relationship between music and language, among other things. It will certainly be a fun and interesting English class! This video can be watched with Spanish, Portuguese and Korean subtitles.Why you should be interested in Charles Limb (from TED.com):Charles Limb has two titles on his official website: Associate Professor, Otolaryngology, Head Neck Surgery, and Faculty, Peabody Conservatory of Music . He combines his two passions to study the way the brain creates and perceives music. Hes a hearing specialist and surgeon at Johns Hopkins who performs cochlear implantations on patients who have lost their hearing. And he plays sax, piano and bass.In search of a better understanding of how the mind perceives complex auditory stimuli such as music, hes been working with Allen Braun to look at the brains of improvising musicians and study what parts of the brain are involved in the kind of deep creativity that happens when a musician is really in the groove.Read more from Dr. Limb on the TED Blog If you think about it from a kind of abstract philosophical level, it’s unusual that acoustic vibrations in the air can make you feel deep emotion, something that can affect your life.Charles Limb in Urbanite Baltimore magazineWatch the video below, and then see if you can answer the questions afterward: What is Charles joke about creativity and surgery?What makes Keith Jarretts concerts unusual?What does off the top of his head mean?Use five adjectives to describe Keith Jarretts music.What question did Charles ask himself about the music?What is the difference between magic and magical?How does the FMRI scanner measure brain activity?What happens in the brain when someone is improvising music?What was the hardest thing for jazz musician Mike Pope about playing music inside the scanner?What was the second experiment with the jazz musicians?What did the second jazz experiment show?What does Charles compare music to?Use 5 adjectives to describe Charles rapping.Will he ever rap again?What happens when rappers improvise?What question does Charles hope to answer some day?Want to take an English Conversation class?English Classes | Cursos Inglés | Aulas Inglês

Put On - Phrasal Verb of the Day

Put On - Phrasal Verb of the Day Todays phrasal verb of the day is Put On.Infinitive form: Put OnPresent Tense: Put On/Puts Oning form: Putting OnPast tense: Put OnParticiple: Put OnIt is a separable phrasal verb that can be used in seven ways:1. To place something on another service. With this meaning, the verb is always separated. (***TEAUNA DOUBLE CHECK)He put his laptop on his desk.I put the lemons in the refrigerator.2. To apply something to another surface.The cook put too much sauce on the pizza.We put new paint on the house.3. To attach something to something else. This verb is always separated when there is an object in the sentence. (***TEAUNA DOUBLE CHECK)We need to put new tires on our car.When need to put on new tires. (In this case the object is implied, although not in the sentence).  (***TEAUNA DOUBLE CHECK)4. To place something on your body, most often used with clothing.I put on sweater before going outside.Ill need to put on a lot of sunscreen if I visit South America this winter.5. To put on wei ght.A lot of men put on weight when their wives are pregnant.Its easy to put weight on when you are vacationing.6. To organize or be part of a performance, usually for entertainment. Frequently used with a show, a concert, or a play.My favorite singer is putting on a show next week.The local theater company puts a play on every month.7. To deceive someone or play a joke on someone. (This is not used so frequently in current spoken English).David says hes a millionaire, but I think hes putting us on.Possible video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahlc1lcBLHQExercises: Write your answers in comments and we will correct them.Write three sentences (if possible) by adding the objects in parentheses.Example: (your coat, it) You should put on -  You should put on your coat. You should put it on. You should put your coat on.1. (a concert, it) Metallica is putting on2. (new pants, them) Did you put on your3. (the coffee cup, it) Please put on the tableComplete the sentences with the correct form of Put On.1. Dont ____ ketchup __  my hot dog!2. Theyre _____ a new coat of paint ___ they house.3. He ___ __ weight every time he visits his family for Christmas.