Programme:
| № | Tasks |
| 1. | Visit card |
| 2. | Warming up “Quiz” |
| 3. | Associations |
| 4. | Understand me |
| 5. | English words in the Russian language |
| 6. | Proverbs and idioms |
| 7. | Do you know that…? |
| 8. | Poetry corner “Limericks” |
| 9. | Hometask “The Turnip” |
Introduction
- Every intellectual person should know these words of wisdom. Guy Julius Caesar once said them. Here are some historical facts:
Guy Julius Caesar was born in 102 BC and was a foremost politician, commander (war leader) and orator of Italy. During eight years he captured the lands of present-day France, Belgium and the western part of Germany. Romans got rich territories and the Gaels got great culture. Hundreds later the people borrowed main Roman vocabulary and the nobles of France were proud of being “the real Romans”. Caesar became the dictator. Some other politicians dreamed of the Roman Republic based on freedom principles and the power of the Senate. Some senators decided to punish the arrogant (in their opinions) ruler and stabbed him with their swords in 44BC. Among them was Caesar’s friend, Mark Brutus whom he told famous words: “And you, Brutus?”
“Veni, vidi, vici” is one of the most famous Caesar’s words. He used them in order to inform Rome about his fast victory. Every educated person should know so-called Caesar’s words of wisdom. If we translate Latin words into English it will sound like “Came, saw and won”.
- Certainly we are not Caesars, but everyone has its own Rubicon to cross. And today we’ll try to do it. Be enthusiastic, initiative and high-minded and you are sure to cross your Rubicon. Good luck!
Look at the blackboard: you’ll have nine steps.
Visit card
- The first step is the visit card of your team. Your task is
- to name your team
- to elect the captain
- to choose the motto
You’ve got time limit – 5 minutes. Then give us your presentation.
Warming up “Quiz”
- You’ve been studying English for ages. You know a lot of facts about English, English-speaking countries, their customs and traditions. To check up your knowledge I’ll ask you questions and you should answer them as soon as possible. One correct answer is a point. Get set, go!
Questions:
Associations
- And now the captains are invited. The task is “You’ll have a card with a word on it and you should write your five associations with that notion”. While the captain writes his own associations, the members of his teams try to guess the captain’s associations and speak them aloud. You’ve got a point if your captain’s association coincides with yours. You can get five points for all five guessed associations.
For example, pupils’ associations with the word “Sun”:
1) yellow;
2) round;
3) hot;
4) summer;
5) sky.\
Understand me
- It’s a famous kind of competition. All the members of your team can try their speaking abilities. You’ll have a card with a word on it; you should explain the meaning of the word and not mention it. The other members should recognise the notion (for example, a forget-me-not, a sunflower, a guitar, a violin).
Speaker: “It’s a kind of flowers. It’s blue. Some young people present them in order to remember him or her. It’s grown in the fields, in wet places”.
English words in the Russian language
- We live in Russia. Russian is our native language, but more and more English words are being borrowed from the English language into other languages. Your task is to write as many Russian words which were borrowed from English as you can. Time limit is five minutes (football, computer, golf…)
Proverbs and idioms
Proverbs are wisdom of the whole nation. Wherever you live, whatever language you speak, most of the proverbs have similar meanings. For example, my home is my castle (мой дом – моя крепость), East or West, home is best (в гостях хорошо, а дома лучше). The same is about the idioms (to kill two hares with one stone – убить двух зайцев сразу). Your task is to find Russian equivalents to the proverbs on your cards. Each team has five proverbs or idioms:
- He laughs best, who laughs last / Смеется тот, кто смеется последним
- Better late than never / Лучше поздно, чем никогда
- Far from eye, far from heart / С глаз долой и с сердца вон
- Tastes differ / На вкус и цвет товарища нет
- The eye is the mirror of the soul / Глаза – зеркало души
- It is never too late to learn / Век живи – век учись
- A man is known by the company he keeps / Скажи мне, кто твой друг, и я скажу, кто ты
- Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today / Никогда не откладывай на завтра то, что можно сделать сегодня
- Hour in the morning is worth two in the evening / Утро вечера мудренее
- Rome was not built in a day / Москва не сразу строилась
Do you know that…?
The next step is called “Do you know that…?” You know that during English classes we study not only English, but a wide range of different things: we speak both about changeable climate in Great Britain and the Mediterranean climate of Australia. We learn how to be polite, how to protect the environment and how to respect grown-ups. Please try to answer the questions on your cards. Each team has the same card. One correct answer is a point.
Card
- What animals are cold-blooded? (reptiles and amphibians)
- What animal lives the longest life and how many years does it live? (a tortoise, 400 years)
- What animal has more vertebral in his neck: a squirrel or a giraffe? (a squirrel)
- What planet is the nearest to the Sun? (Mercury)
- Does a kangaroo or a horse run faster? (a kangaroo)
- What is the London home of the Queen? (Buckingham palace)
- What mountain is the highest in the world? What is its height? (Everest, 8848 m)
- What animal is the largest in the world? (a blue whale)
Poetry corner “Limericks”
- Limericks are small funny poems. Try to translate them as good as possible using rhythms:
| There was an old man of West, Who wore a pale plum-coloured vest; When they said, “Does it fit?” He replied, “Not a bit!” That uneasy Old Man of the West. |
Вариант игроков: С запада старик был одет |
| There was an Old Man of Columbia, Who was thirsty, and called out for some beer; But they brought it quite hot, In a small copper pot, Which disgusted that man of Columbia. |
Вариант игроков: Жил-был на свете
колумбиец один, |
Hometask “The Turnip”
- The last task is your homework to dramatize a famous Russian fairy-tale “The Turnip” in your modern interpretation. Who will be the first? (The turnip // Иностранные языки в школе. – 2001. – №4. – С.111 – 112).
The conclusion
Thanks everybody for being so artistic, erudite and for good knowledge of the English language!