Mark Wills (James Bond, British Stereotypes, Music in USA and UK)


Mark WillsMark Wills was born in Cambridgeshire, England, but has spent most of his life on a voyage of discovery, mainly through France, Mexico, Spain and, most recently, Poland, speaking to as many people as possible on the way. He is a passionate linguist and a lover of music, world football and the local cuisine of wherever he happens to be. He has taught language through culture in secondary schools, university degree and masters courses, and various other learning contexts, and translates academic articles for publication in international journals. 'Never stop feeding the body, the mind and the soul …’

 


Ireland – a shining light

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 11-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups’ needs.

Ireland is a shining light in the Atlantic Ocean, located physically and spiritually between Great Britain and the USA, between London and New York, to where the diaspora has fled in times of famine and need, and where Irish music, dance, cinema, humour and sport can be found. We will look at Ireland’s contradictions and conflicts, how the landscape has helped shape the Irish character and how Irish musical and acting talent – from U2, The Corrs and The Cranberries to Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy – has made its mark on the world. Then what about the Irish language and what it means to be Irish? Céad Míle Fáilte – a hundred thousand welcomes …
 
Wordwall exercise: Ireland Basic Facts Quiz
 

Wales: a box of surprises for lovers of cinema, music, nature, conversation and sport

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 11-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups’ needs.   

 As William takes on the title of Prince of Wales and Charles III becomes King of Jamaica, let’s explore the subject of Wales, for a change. Celts and Romans, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Gareth Bale … What role have these people played in the history of this fascinating but largely unknown country? Why do the Welsh speak a language so different from any other language we know and how is it related to The Lord of the Rings? How exactly do you pronounce the longest place name in Europe Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch?!! In this workshop, we’ll discover the answers to these questions and more, while actually learning how to say some essential words and phrases in Welsh ourselves. Croeso! Welcome to a nation at the same time close to and distant from the other countries of the British Isles …”
 

King Charles III of Barbuda, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 11-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups’ needs.  

King Charles III’s coronation will take place on Saturday 6th May 2023 at Westminster Abbey in London. During the ceremony, Charles III will be crowned King of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and, of course, the United Kingdom. To help gain a better understanding of British culture we will delve into the events that have led to Charles III becoming the King of 15 Commonwealth realms.

Wales: a box of surprises for lovers of cinema, music, nature, conversation and sport

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 11-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups? needs.   

Celts and Romans, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Gareth Bale … What role have these people played in the history of this fascinating but largely unknown country? Why do the Welsh speak a language so different to any other language we know and how is it related to The Lord of the Rings? How exactly do you pronounce the longest place name in EuropeLlanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch?!! In this workshop we’ll discover the answers to these questions and more, while actually learning how to say some essential words and phrases in Welsh ourselves. Croeso! Welcome to a nation at the same time close to and distant from the other countries of the British Isles …


A Musical Journey Across the USA

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 11-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups? needs.   

?I?m a star in New York, I?m a star in LA?. Where do your favourite bands, singers, and rappers come from and how does this shape the music they perform? New York, Los Angeles, Memphis, Detroit, and Seattle are all important destinations in this wild road trip across an often unpredictable but electrifying nation? The music artists featuring in this workshop are, in chronological order:  Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, The Jackson 5, The Ramones, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Madonna, Nirvana?Courtney Love. Hole?Nandi Bushel. Feel free to check them out before the event.


Making and Breaking British Stereotypes

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 11-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups? needs.   

England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland… What unites and what divides those four very distinct and distinctive nations of the British Isles? Do sport, music, food, the royal family, and David Beckham unite or divide or both? If you were dropped in the middle of one of these nations, how long would it take you to realise where you are? Accents, attitudes, and artists all provide important clues…

Materials:

Quiz


British Culture Through Pop Music

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 12-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups? needs.   

We will take a musical ride from Liverpool to London, stopping off at exotic (and not so exotic ?) locations on the way, singing, rapping and dancing as we go. We will discover where The Beatles, Oasis and David Bowie, among others, came from and how they changed popular music forever, each with their own very local and very particular way of using language to express their thoughts and feelings about the world that they lived in. The music artists featuring in this workshop are One Direction and Ed Sheeran?the latter?s song Galway Girl pretty much rounding up and closing the workshop?with mention made of Annie Lennox. Feel free to check them out before the event.

Materials:

British Culture Through Pop Music pre or post workshop questions 


Britishness: James Bond, a reflection of changes in the British society

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 12-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups? needs.   

What exactly does 'British’ mean? In this journey through time and space, we’ll visit curry and Bollywood in India, cricket and Usain Bolt in Jamaica, and discover who James Bond really is. James Bond represents what most people think of as British. But who is James Bond? And what about the women in his life? Queen Elizabeth II and the enigmatic Miss Moneypenny, for example … 

Materials:

Quizlet Vocabulary: Britishness: James Bond, a reflection of changes in the British society
Britishness The British Empire post workshop debate
Britishness James Bond reading and writing
Britishness James Bond reading and writing
Britishness James Bond pre or post workshop questions
Britishness James Bond pre or post workshop questions
Britishness James Bond Commonwealth listening and reading
Britishness James Bond Commonwealth listening and reading


British Culture Through Pop Music

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 12-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups? needs.   

We will take a musical ride from Liverpool to London, stopping off at exotic (and not so exotic …) locations on the way, singing, rapping and dancing as we go. We will discover where The Beatles, Oasis and David Bowie, among others, came from and how they changed popular music forever, each with their own very local and very particular way of using language to express their thoughts and feelings about the world that they lived in.

Materials:

British Culture Through Pop Music pre or post workshop questions 
British Culture Through Pop Music pre or post workshop questions


Weird & wonderful festivals

Event type: Workshop
Facilitator: Mark Wills
Age: 10-18
Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate/ Advanced
Time: 60 min.
* On demand contents, level and timing can be tailored to groups? needs.   

When is chocolate the undoubted star of the show? Where might you find people with frozen hair? And which dance gets you facing north, then east, south and west? We?ll look at popular and peculiar celebrations around the world and in the UK, where practically anything can be used as an excuse to set up a festival. Our final destination will be a field in the south-west of England, where cows quietly chew on grass, until once a year ?

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