Hello, I’m Mandeep. Welcome to my Watch and Learn English substack. My aim is to teach “real-life” English using videos and topics that are in the news.
What’s on this week?
This week the legendary actress Dame Maggie Smith died. Whether you knew her as the formidable Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey or perhaps the inspirational Professor McGonagall, she was one of Britain’s best-loved actresses.
Our video this week looks at a famous scene from the last Harry Potter film. No spoilers, but it does contain a major event in the story.
When I choose a video, I correct the subtitles and give you notes so you can make sense of any language and culture that’s key to understanding.
This week we have:
Video of the week. Professor McGonagall protects Hogwarts.
Language focus. “Tongue twisters”, what they are and how to use them.
Comprehension test. Check your understanding of this week’s video.
Let’s get started!
1. Video of the week - Professor McGonagall in action.
Professor Minerva McGonagall is a key figure in the Harry Potter series. She is intelligent and brave with a strong sense of justice. Dame Maggie Smith played her with grace and authority, perfectly capturing McGonagall's character throughout the films.
Watch the video… and learn!
Click here to watch the video with clear, correct captions (not auto-generated), definitions for the key vocabulary, and an option to slow the video down to help you catch every word.
What did you think of the clip? Have you seen the movie? Let me know in the comments!
2. Language Focus
Tongue twisters
In the clip, Professor McGonagall wants to say that one of the teachers likes fireworks. Can you remember what she says?
…he has a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics.
Try saying that five times as fast as you can!
It sounds like a “tongue twister” or a series of words that is hard to say quickly.
Tongue twisters are a fun way to improve pronunciation by strengthening mouth muscles, creating muscle memory, and practicing confusing sounds.
Here are three pronunciation challenges for English learners and a tongue twister to help each one:
Short and long vowels.
English vowels can be pronounced differently, which can be confusing. For instance, some vowels are short, like the ‘a’ in “bat”, while others are long, like the ‘a’ in “cake”.
A big black bat sat on a backpack and ate a cake.
Similar consonants.
Some consonants like ‘v’ and ‘f’ can sound very similar.
Fred's five friendly frogs found a vine.
Syllable stress. Some words have a syllable that’s pronounced more than others. In the example below, all the parts of the word in bold are stressed more.
The professor and the student constructed a contract.
3. Comprehension questions
Now watch the video again and answer the comprehension questions. I’ll put the answers in the comments below.
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Professor McGonagall protects Hogwarts