Instrumentally Yours: Learn English with Songs #2

Hey there again,

Saturday is a great day. The roads are clear and long car rides can actually be enjoyed. My mood was highly influenced by the peacefulness of today; thus I chose a soothing tune, hoping it will help you calm down, relax and enjoy the remainder of your  Saturday.

This song is by one of my favorite artists, Bruce Springsteen, who has a very unique voice and whose songs are always inspirational and moving. The song that I am about to share with you is one that he wrote shortly before his wedding to his current wife, Patti. It is, indeed, one of the top love songs he's ever written. My favorite thing about this song is that it's slow, so the words are easy to be heard, allowing you to enjoy the beauty of the lyrics. I really hope you like this song as much as I do. The name of the song is 'Book of Dreams'

Lyrics

I'm standing in the backyard 
Listening to the party inside 
Tonight I'm drinkin' in the forgiveness 
This life provides 
The scars we carry remain but the pain slips away it seems 
Oh won't you baby be in my book of dreams
 
I'm watchin' you through the window 
With your girlfriends from back home 
You're showin' off your dress 
There's laughter and a toast 
From your daddy to the prettiest bride he's ever seen 
Oh won't you baby be in my book of dreams 

In the darkness my fingers slip across your skin 
I feel your sweet reply 
The room fades away and suddenly I'm way up high 
Just holdin' you to me 
As through the window the moonlight streams 
Oh won't you baby be in my book of dreams 
Now the ritual begins 
'Neath the wedding garland we meet as strangers 
The dance floor is alive with beauty 
Mystery and danger 
We dance out 'neath the stars' ancient light into the darkening trees 
Oh won't you baby be in my book of dreams.

More on Lyrics

1. Ritual: is a ceremony or a series of actions performed regularly. For example, my Friday night ritual is to wake up at noon, order pizza and watch a movie.

2. Garland: Hanging decorations

floral garland

Instrumentally Yours: Learn English with Songs

Dear students,

Believe it or not, attending classes and doing homework will not enable you to communicate in English; Studying English, learning its grammar and memorising new words might help with your everyday use of English but are certainly not enough simply because language is much more than putting words together in a certain grammatical order. Language is a representation of what its speakers think and how they perceive the world and that is one reason why the world looks different in different languages. Have you ever wondered why using the moon as a metaphor for beauty is completely acceptable in Arabic but sounds odd and unfamiliar in English?

So, to be able to communicate using a certain language, you must learn about the culture it originated from and see the world from the perspective of its own speakers. For that reason, you should not depend solely on books and dictionaries to learn a language. Read books, travel, watch movies or simply, listen to music. 

Songs, while having the powerful and magical ability to change your mood and cling to your memories, encapsulate many cultural values and attitudes. They are also a very convenient way to stay in touch with the language while improving your vocabulary at the same time. 

Because of that, I decided to start sharing some of my favorite songs that have great and profound lyrics, in addition to being catchy. Every week, I will post a song along with its lyrics and a short comment. All you have to do is listen to it once while reading the lyrics, translate the difficult words and put it on repeat until it makes you puke :D

The song that I would like to initiate this series with is Heaven by an underrated rock band named Warrant. It is a song about being devoted to the person you love regardless of what others think. It came out almost 30 years ago in 1989.

Lyrics

I've got a picture of your house
And you're standing by the door.
It's black and white and faded,
And it's looking pretty worn.
See the factory that I worked
Silhouetted in the back.
The memories are gray but man they're really coming back.

I don't need to be the king of the world
As long as i'm the hero of this little girl

Heaven isn't too far away
Closer to it everyday 
No matter what your friends might say

How I love the way you move
And the sparkle in your eyes
There's a color deep inside them
Like blue suburban skies
When I come home late at night
And you're in bed asleep
I wrap my arms around you
So I can feel you breathe

I dont need to be a superman
As long as you will always be my biggest fan

Heaven isn't too far away
Closer to it everyday (Ah, ah)
No matter what your friends might say
We'll find our way, yeah

Now the lights are going out,
Along the boulevard
Memories come rushing back and makes it pretty hard
I've got nowhere left to go
And no one really cares
I don't know what to do
But I'm never giving up on you.

Heaven isn't too far away
Closer to it every day
ohhhh ohhh
No matter what your friends say
I know we're gonna find a way

(Heaven)

Whoah, oohh, ohhh
Whoah, oohh, ohhh

(Heaven)

It's not too far away
Whoah, oohh, ohhh
Yeah yeah yeah

More on lyrics

1. What is a Silhouette? 

According to Dictionary.com, a silhouette is "the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible against a lighter background, especially in dim light." 

Elephants silhouetted against sunset sky

2. Pictures looking worn?

A worn-out photo is a photo so old it looks damaged and shabby. We also use worn-out to describe other items like shoes, bags and other articles of clothing. We can sometimes say 'you look worn out' to someone who looks tired or exhausted.

Worn out dog

A worn-out photograph

until next week,

Keep rocking! \m/

Important Times and Dates

Dearest students,

I hope you are having fun with EL099 so far. This post is just a reminder of the most important times and dates that you should know.

1. My office hours

I have two office hours every week

on Saturday from 8:00 am to 9:00 am
on Wednesday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Please feel free to visit me at any of those times to discuss your homework, writing, or anything that you do not understand. If non of the timings listed above is suitable for you, please contact me via LMS to agree on another day/time.

2. Your exams:

Quiz 1 (10 marks): The first quiz (as was announced in the classroom) will be on Wednesday, October 11th, 2017.
It will cover themes one and two. Quizzes will be done during your class and will take one hour and 15 minutes only.

Midterm (30 marks): The date and timing for the midterm have not been announced yet; however, it will probably be during the fourth week (October 14 to October 17th). It will cover themes one, two and three and the exam duration is 1 and a half hours.

Quiz 2 (10 marks): The second quiz will take place on Wednesday, November 1st, 2017. It will cover themes four and five. Quizzes will be done during your class and will take one hour and 15 minutes only.

Final (50 marks): The date and timing for the final have not been announced either but it is expected to around mid-November. The final exam covers all five themes and will last for two hours.

All exams include four sections: Reading, Grammar, Vocabulary and Writing.


3. Extra review class:

The first qui Please note that I will be giving an extra review class on Tuesday October 10th from 10 to 12 in room #GE109. Your attendance is very much appreciated.

Best of luck 
And thank you for your kind World Teachers' Day messages <3