Backstage with Shakira

Shakira is in the middle of a tour in North and South America, "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women No Longer Cry)" and Mark Savage has interviewed the Colombian artist in the backstage of the Miami show for BBC News in the article "My kids are the reason I'm alive: Backstage with Shakira". The report peeps into all the seamstress and laundry work behind an international musical show with an interview to head of wardrobe, Hannah Kinkade, and it also revisits the recent personal upheavals of Shakira and how she has managed to get over every setback and relaunch her career. 

The first half of the article contains very precise fashion & music show vocabulary, colloquial expressions and interesting collocations but the sentences are quite short, so, it can accessible for B2 students and above, who can pick up words like: backstage, bowels, to be taped, on fire, a scrawl, to put on [a stadium tour], sold out, to polish, frayed nerves, a screaming [match], vibe, to stretch, seamstress, to sew, a catsuit, a [guitar] check, tuning, to hang around, a tumble dryer, to plumb in, a venue, wardrobe, a costume, to care for, to stitch, to scrub, an outfit, to scuff [their shoes], to stash [reserves of Gatorade], iced coffee, sticky [Miami heat], a trade-off, the underworld, a set, to stash away, to stud, a [sound] check, [non-]deceitful, to be flanked, a [police] escort, flared, a vest [top], flawless, the crew, to deliver, a quip, a wink, to be [full] out, to figure something out, one way or another, a pan pipe, a riff, a wristband, a workout, [the obsession] to pay off, a parade, a [tribal-knife] routine, to thrash, to howl, to bray, heartbreak, [personal] upheaval, to fall apart, [tax] fraud, to settle [a case], out of court, to prompt, an outburst, a barb, a string [of hits], to rack up [13 billion], streams, furry, a she-wolf, commitment, [to come] off [stage], to put together [a show], to make something happen, to carry you through, to break into [the Western pop market], precarious, humane, to catch up with [the BBC], to christen, a [powerful] statement, to underpin, to span [generations], to bounce around, a tender [ballad], to duet, mixed emotions, stressed out, [to stay] tuned, to tease. 

If you want to watch the Mexico show of Shakira's "Women No Longer Cry" tour, you can click on the YouTube link below:

Catherine of Aragon, Queen Consort of England

Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), is a household name in England, as her marriage to Henry VIII was the first and the longest in a string of six tumultous marriages, but, the Spanish Infanta is, arguably, less known in Spain, as she failed to fulfil her royal duty bestowed upon her by her father, Ferdinand II of Aragon: to produce an uncontested heir to the English Crown that would embody a solid and lasting diplomatic alliance between the kingdoms of Spain and England in the early 16th century, when France emerged as a common rival.

Catherine's marriage to Henry lasted from 1509 to 1533, when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Crammer declared Henry's marriage to Catherine "null and void", which allowed Henry to marry young Anne Boleyn -with family ties to France, and undoubtedly contributed to the separation of the English Church from the Roman Catholic Church. Despite the terrible blow to her royal dignity, Catherine never gave up her claim and spent her entire life fighting hard for the right of their daughter, Mary, to be the legitimate heir to Henry's throne. Several authors have recently vindicated Catherine of Aragon as a well-educated and empowered woman, who led the country in military campaigns against the Scots (1513), while Henry was fighting in France, and who fostered bold social reforms in the English court: Catherine was a patron of Renaissance humanists like Erasmus of Rotterdam, Sir Thomas More and Juan Luis Vives, the Spanish scholar who wrote The Education of a Christian Woman, a treatise that "advocates education for all women regardless of social class and ability" -Catherine herself opened several colleges for women when she was Queen consort; she impressed Londoners with contemporary Spanish fashion and she also "started an extended programme for the relief of the poor", which made Catherine a very popular Queen consort in England and abroad, despite her estrangement from Henry.

Next you can find a lesson plan with listening and speaking tasks, key and the script in Word and in PDF formats for C1 students, extracted from the interview that Giles Tremlett gave to Jane Garvey in Woman's Hour (BBC Radio-4) after the publication of his book Catherine of Aragon, Henry's Spanish Queen, back in 2010. Next is the clip with the audio recording (03':45") for the listening task. If you want to listen to the full interview, here is a recording of the whole interview (10':56") without a script. In addition, and just out of curiosity, you can find a review of the book from The Guardian newspaper in Word and in  PDF formats. Some expressions C1 learners will find in the listening task are: to be allocated to [other monarchs], fate, to take something in your stride, dowry, an eating disorder, to fast, to bear [a child], pious, a steely [character], submissive, obstinate.

But the interest in Catherine of Aragon has not waned over the years. Last week, the highly successful discussion programme In Our Time on BBC Radio 4, devoted a brand new episode to Catherine of Aragon: In Our Time, Feb. 2025 with host Melvyn Bragg and a panel of three top academics on Early Modern History: Lucy Wooding, from Oxford University, María Hayward, from the University of Southampton, and Gonzalo Velasco Berenguer, from the University of Bristol. This is a long radio programme (53') which contains very rich language without a script, so, it is recommended for C2 students and for Experts (Ex) or teachers who want to learn about Tudor England and Early Modern Spain. The list of salient words and collocations below can be used as a listening guide for lower level students.

Some expressions learners can pick up from the In Our Time radio programme are: to engage in, formidable [skills], fellow, born to [greatness], a monarch, to lay the foundation, a superpower, the lesser [partner], a throne, a half-sister, resilient, a prime [example], to rally [the troops], [to survive to] adulthood, pious, to betroth [children], [to seek an] alliance, a contested [succession crisis], betrothal, to bolster, a deficient [education], a patron of [humanists], a retinue, pageant, a hood, a gown, pleated, [bands of] cane, to send [him] off, to jeopardize [their childbearing potential], to rake [mercilessly], a maiden, a deeply religious [woman], to consummate [a marriage], dowager [princess], dowry, to be at loggerheads, to befit [a Infanta], in cahoots with [the Queen of England], very vocal, self-assertive, outspoken, to drift, a tussel, her piety, [religious] observant, to fast, Infanta [of Spain], linen, brocade [dresses], a warm and affectionate relationship, to feel warmly to one another, exuberant, athletic, a reassuring [presence], raw, glamour, to joust, joie de vivre, a courtly love [convention], to lay her triumphs at her feet, [to court] mask, to throw off [his disguise], to conduct herself [as Queen], devout, arguably, a relief [army], armour, [to buy] supplies, a bloodied [coat], to sew [banners], domesticated and martial [themes], to push forward [the Spanish] agenda, a beacon [for Spanish interests], wool trade, in a vacuum, to intermarry, weary, a debacle, to stew, the kingdom of Navarre, to add insult to injury, to mutiny, to rebuff [an attempt], an annulment, feisty, to wield [authority], [queen] regnant, to be perturbed, [to become] an issue, more ugly than not, [religious] viability, [not without] precedent, appalling, [royal] dignity, reluctant, more telling, to groom [his illegitimate child], a [royal] bride, a role model, [Spanish] heritage, a treatise, to draw up [a plan of education], to be depicted, her upbringing, a shift, patronage, [to give it a new] spin, the dispensation, double-binding, to dispense [a marriage], determination, to engage with [the best intellects], [to support her] corner, an [intellectual] tussle, Papal [authority], to wrangle [around that], God-given [authority], to take a stand, to be interwoven, scandalous, for the sake of [her daughter], to be vanished, a watershed [moment], a dispute, to have the upper-hand, more poignantly, to repeal [a law], her will, to be addressed, [princess] dowager, discreet life, a manor [house], to command [popular support], to nurse [her daughter], vindictive, a bearing, a cooling [of relations], an uneasy [relation], to gather [support], a moving [letter], a hint [of steel], a concubine, a heartbreaking [sentence], astonishing, appallingly, sense of duty, longevity, regent, to set [the model], uncaring [son], [not a] catch, mean, to pass the buck, to make out, wordy [letters], fury, her misfortunes, he is to blame, a flamboyant [dresser], to offset [the complaints], a [last minute] reversal, a cipher, to quail, [politically] apt, dour, sarcastic, impeccably [dressed], the Field of the Cloth of Gold, a makeshift [city], a [wine] fountain, to herald [lasting peace], an encounter, a wrestling [match], [to go] rough, awkward, to smooth things over, the woodcut, a pomergranate, regalia, a robe, a [queen] regnant.

If you want to watch a video with Catherine's story, you can watch "The Warrior Queen Married to Henry VIII: Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's First Wife" (2023) below, which can be recommended for C1 students.

Diamonds and Rust: Joan Baez and her Relationship with Bob Dylan

Love is the driving force that gives us the extra energy to help and sacrifice for our beloved ones. It is the only feeling that makes sense of the craziest decisions, of selflessness and generosity beyond any rational restraints; love is the the fuel for unstinted creativity.  Yet, love can be bitter and sweet. When you feel your lover takes your sacrifice for granted and no longer makes the effort, when passion is followed by indifference, and bliss by disdain, when you have an on-and-off relationship that seems to be stuck in a dead end street, then "diamonds" become "rust", the metaphor that Joan Baez found to describe her relationship with Bob Dylan after a sudden phone call ten years after their break-up.

"Diamonds and Rust" is a haunting song, one of the best songs ever written, it is a moving song, full of winter sun and chilly shade, but the melody and the words unveil the serenity, the maturity and the power that Joan Baez felt when she revisited her youthful relationship with Bob Dylan. Here you can watch a video without subtitles of "Diamonds and Rust", next you can find a lesson-plan for B2 students with listening and speaking tasks and the answer key (and the same document in PDF). Some interesting words to be found in the song are: damned, a ghost, robin egg blue, lousy, a booth, the midwest, a cufflink, rust, to burst, to stray, the Madonna, on the half-shell, unharmed, a crummy [hotel], to mingle.

If you want some background information about the song, you can check out the post "Stella: 'Diamonds and Rust' by Joan Baez" written by Elaine Irvine on the NPR affiliated radio station KRUI-FM, from Iowa University, which is suitable for C1 students. On BBC Sounds you will also find an excellent radio documentary about the song, Soul Music: Diamonds and Rust, which has no script and can be recommended for C2 students. Finally, the most ardent fans of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, can read "Diamonds & Rust, Joan & Bob, 1960's - 1980's", a thorough musical and personal biography published in the Pop History Dig, which is recommended for Experts, that is, for students beyond C2 level.

Below you can watch another video of the song with English subtitles and pictures of their relationship:

Spain's Pineapple Craze for Supermarket Romance

The crazy fad of finding romance in supermarkets with a pineapple code has gone viral across Spain, and has recently become the joke of the country, Guy Hedgecoe reports on this Tik-Tok fueled phenomenon for BBC News in the article "Spain's 'pineapple-gate' sparks hopes of romance and shop chaos". This short article is suitable for B2 students, who will find interesting words like: [pineapple]-gate, to spark, a craze, to seek [partners], a claim, a trolley, to hook up, a caption, disorderly, a bachelor party, rowdy [scenes], a trend, upside-down, to swap, swinging (slang), [pineapple] mania, to clear up, a storeroom, to fall into, clutch.

Below you can watch a video report on the story, with its transcript, by Curiosities YouTube channel, where B2 students can find words like: a hookup, a trend, a single, a hotspot, to picture, to cruise, , the [wine] aisle, upside-down, a cart, a fling, to sneak, gazpacho, quirky, to trade, a swipe, to peel, a bump. 

Taylor Swift Remembers Dylan Thomas in "The Tortured Poets Department"

Rowenna Hoskin recently wrote a short article for BBC News, "Why is Taylor Swift singing about Dylan Thomas?", where she explains the references to the Welsh poet and the Chelsea Hotel in the pop singer's latest album. This article is suitable for B2 learners who will find words like: to wake up to [a new album], to name-drop, to sell out, a gig, to release [an album], a staple [poem], a memorial service, to settle, [to set] a template, stabbed [to death], to rake in [$1.04 bn], to crash [a ticket site], resale [tickets], a scammer, to dupe.

Tamantha Ryan also covered the story for Page Six, a celebrity news magazine, and wrote "Who are Dylan Thomas and Patty Smith? Meet the poets Taylor Swift mentioned on TTPD" to let young readers know. In the accompanying video the reporter says that Taylor Swift's new album also includes disses at her nemesis Kim Kardashian (check out "From VMAs Drama to 'thanK you aIMee': a Timeline of Taylor Swift's Feud with Kim Kardashian, Kanye West" in Rolling Stone), other scathing songs aimed at her former boyfriends (Matty Healy, Joe Alwyn, John Mayer), as well as a loving allusion to her current sweetheart Travis Kelce. This article and video is suitable for C1 students who will encounter interesting words like: to release [an album], to catch the eye, the title track, to scroll, a swelling, fatty, roistering, doomed, tenant, to file a lawsuit, gentrification, an accolade, outspoken, disdain, a condition, to place [a child] for adoption, [her] late [husband]. The short accompanying video is fast, colloquial and has no subtitles, so it is recommended for C2 students, who will hear: to hold my typewriter, an installment, to take aim at [people], to call out, bronze, spray-tanned, a bully, to spell out at, a fair share, seemingly, lovingly, to allude to [somebody], a bunch of, her ex[es], a front man, to revisit, an [age] gap, when it comes to [those exes], jokingly, fitting, to chime in [on X about her track], [to get] wrecked, scathing [songs], to avenge.

If you want to read a full review of the album, you can check "I judged Taylor Swift's album immediately after it came out. Here's why I was wrong", written by Oliver Darcy for CNN. This text is recommended for C1 students and above, or you can listen to the NPR programme Pop Culture Happy Hour "On 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Taylor Swift spares no one" (34:01) where the host and two experts discuss the album and play some clips of outstanding songs. This radio programme is rather complex linguistically, but with the help of the script, it can be accessible to C2 "Swifties", who will find words like: to span, ticked off, unpack, underdog, compelling, to suck me in, corny, unhinged, to toss around, to hearken, samey, [synth-pop] beats, [first] arc, opus [fatigue], to buckle under [their own weight], grievance, a [public] darling, a bop, hype, jock jams, defiance, catchy, snippet, to rep [for an artist], zany [sense of humour], [send your head into a] tailspin, to stink, to gasp, to stand the test of time, clunky, to wrack your brain [around this record], to scroll [across the page], scathing, to rip [everything] down, bleachers [warmer], to kick in, to finagle, to wield [power], stealthily, to winnow down to, [high] kicks, to epitomize, cheeky, boppy, to groove, to mess [her] up, a full-blown [message], to hint, [teenage] petulance, a tantrum, to scold, to cater for [vipers], empath's clothing, taken aback, to craft [a narrative], to rip [apart a narrative].

Below, you can watch the official video of the title track, "The Tortured Poets Department" with lyrics, and here you can find a fill-in-the gap task with the lyrics of the song for B2 level with interesting words & references like: spike, Charlie Puth, to scratch, a retriever, pounding, undone, cyclone, to screw up, to decode.

For further information, you can see here a past entry about Dylan Thomas and the poem "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" with a lesson plan for C2 students.

 

The Irrational Biases that Create Anxiety in the Age of Information Overload

Linguist Amanda Montell has just published a new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes On Modern Irrationality, where she explores the irrational biases that we use to make sense of the world, and how these irrational shortcuts can subtly influence us in the wrong choices we make in life or in the puzzling understanding of the modern overinformed world. She specifically discusses our fascination with celebrities as role models (the "halo effect"); the "illusory truth effect" that turns disinformation into an accepted truth; "thought-terminating clichés" that put our critical thinking to sleep; the "proportionality bias" which leads us to accept conspiracy theories; apocalyptic language, nostalgia, declinism and other modern myths. 

Fresh Air host Tonya Mosley talks to Amanda Montell about the contents of her new book in the interview 'Magical Overthinking' author says information overload can stroke irrational thoughts. The interview is very interesting for advanced language learners and teachers, the vocabulary is very rich so it is recommended for C2 students and Experts, although there is also a script available which could be most useful for C1 learners. In the interview you will come across interesting words like: gluttonous, [cognitive] dissonance, to square, confirmation bias, sunk-cost fallacy, to fulfill, to serve [me], to double down [on something], to stick around, to engineer, zeitgeist, clash, cognitive bias, deep-rooted,

a [mental] trick, [a term] was coined, a saber-toothed tiger, [existential] pain, innate, onslaught [of information], to catch up with, to overthink, to underthink, worldly, nurturing, to align with [our political beliefs], to jump to the conclusion, gregarious, a role model, the halo effect, to prompt [us to do something], disfigurement, parasocial [relationships], to set [everyone] up for [failure], to uplift, to mend, to dethrone [them], a fallible [human being], [parent-child] attachment, superfan [relationship], to trace [something back to the early 1980s], to turn out, [the lines] to blur, an outsider, a [new] paragon, to swerve, the stan, to long [for role models], ruthless, a surrogate mother, a slim [margin of error], to be transfixed, to crack [my world open], a malapropism, to cut my teeth [as a writer], a crash course in [feminist sociolinguistics], it is our penchant [to think], lore, ad nauseam, low-stakes, a factoid, a double-edged sword, nefarious [intentions], a buzzword, manifest, healing wounds, to dovetail, a stock [of expressions], a grifter, to put dissonance to bed, a mindset, an edgy [point], to boil down to, a bunch of, random, a misfortune, over-the-top, freak, to crave, to hold accountable, the outcome, sketchy, grifty, culty, gainfully,  bespoke, vernacular, an op-ed, doomslang, numb, doomscrolling, bed-rotting, demise, small talk, blasé, doomy, grounded, detrimental, screech owls, doomsayers, the rapture, ennui, harrowing, a coping [mechanism], to get through, grassroots, to reckon with [something], wisdom, daydreaming, overthinky panic, awe, quaint, [brains] are wired for, DIY, easier said than done, a disorder, the attention span, to shrink, to scroll [through her feed], zero-sum [bias], to clock, stiff [competition], clout, nemesis, aka, a compound, haywire, to indoctrinate, chills, a tenet, a kink, sunk-cost, MAGA, a zealot, blackout, to cling to [something], a glut [of something], tradwives, anemoia, hardcore, a back-to-basics [style], cottagecore, tchotchkes, toadstool, delulu, to be soothed, a backfire [effect], doomed, verbatim, declinism, to stomach. 

Although Amanda Montell is a very young author and a podcaster, she has a long, successful experience as a feminist sociolinguist and producing audiovisual content for young people. Here you can find a link to one of her earliest video series "The Dirty Word" -when she was "finding her voice" in YouTube- it is called "I hate the word "PANTIES_THE DIRTY WORD", and below you can watch a short video (3:51) of herself with the podcasters "The Minimalists", where she feels cutely embarrassed and laughs out loud when they remind her of that "cringy" video about language and gender:

Flowers by Miley Cyrus on Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day 2024 there are a number of texts to read and listen to. Below you can watch the Miley Cyrus Backyard Sessions video of her hit "Flowers", which recently won the Grammy Record of the Year Award, and do a fill-in-the gap task for B2 students and check it with the key. You can try to figure out what the lyrics talk about, and if you need some background information about the personal references included in the song, you can read the Glamour article "Miley Cyrus Opend Up About the Origins of her Hit Song 'Flowers", which can be suitable for B2 students. You will find interesting words like: chart-topping, cover, release, a refresher, the chorus, empowering, to wallow, to fake, to make [it], to rebuff [the idea], [album] rollout, to be littered [with something], clues, the craft, to trick, to set [something] on fire, on the nose, [an] outlandish [theory], alledgedly, a tuxedo.

If you want to find out how Artificial Intelligence is changing dating apps, you can read the Cosmopolitan article "How the AI Revolution is Coming for your Dating Life", which publishes the results of a survey about the attitude that actively dating millenials and Gen Zers have on the use of AI tools for dating. But for a more personal prediction on your own Valentines' Day, you can check out your horoscope in the article Your Valentine's Day Horoscope is Here and learn how your Valentine's Day 2024 is going to unfold today, whether you are single or you are in a relationship. These two articles are suitable for C1 students.  

Happy Valentine!