Culture · Arts Corner
Film, music, art, theatre and literature
In every lesson there is one work of art from the country of your course: the U.S. (English I), the U.K. (English II) or Canada (English III). It goes with one activity and with the grammar of the lesson.
Five art forms
- Music Música
- Film Cine
- Visual art Artes visuales
- Theatre Teatro
- Literature Literatura
En cada lección hay una obra representativa (cine, música, artes visuales, teatro o literatura) ligada a una actividad y a la gramática de la lección. Se usa en el criterio «Carrera y cultura» de la rúbrica. Solo se enlazan las obras; no se copian letras ni textos.
English I · United States
| Lesson | Art form | Work | Activity · grammar | Start here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Music | Jazz and Louis Armstrong Louis Armstrong (trumpet and voice) · 1920s–1960s | Forum · Act. 1 Cognates + I am… | Smithsonian Magazine · Louis Armstrong's trumpet |
| L2 | Film | The Wizard of Oz Victor Fleming (director) · 1939 | H5P · Act. 6 Formal and informal greetings | Britannica · The Wizard of Oz (film) |
| L3 | Visual art | American Gothic Grant Wood · 1930 | Assignment · Act. 11 To be + possessives | Google Arts & Culture · American Gothic (Art Institute of Chicago) |
| L4 | Theatre | Broadway The Broadway League · since 1900s | Forum · Act. 13 Wh- questions + numbers | The Broadway League · Current Broadway shows |
| L5 | Literature | The Gift of the Magi O. Henry · 1905 | Forum · Act. 17 Courtesy expressions | VOA Learning English · American Stories (slow English, audio + text) |
| L6 | Music | Ella Fitzgerald, «The First Lady of Song» Ella Fitzgerald · 1917–1996 | Forum · Act. 20 Adjectives + has | Smithsonian Music · Ella Fitzgerald: First Lady of Song |
| L7 | Film | Coco Pixar (Lee Unkrich, director) · 2017 | Assignment · Act. 26 Possessives | Motion Picture Association · Pixar's «Coco» |
| L8 | Visual art | Campbell's Soup Cans Andy Warhol · 1962 | Forum · Act. 28 Like + noun / -ing | MoMA · Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup Cans |
| L9 | Theatre | Broadway musicals Many artists · 1940s–today | Assignment · Act. 34 Comparatives | The Broadway League · Current Broadway shows |
| L10 | Literature | Little Women Louisa May Alcott · 1868 | Forum · Act. 35 Present simple (I / you / we / they) | Project Gutenberg · Little Women (free e-book) |
| L11 | Music | The Grand Ole Opry Country music artists · since 1925 | Assignment · Act. 41 Time + frequency adverbs | Grand Ole Opry · The show that made country music famous |
| L12 | Film | Modern Times Charlie Chaplin · 1936 | Assignment · Act. 45 Sequence connectors | Britannica Kids · Modern Times |
English II · United Kingdom
| Lesson | Art form | Work | Activity · grammar | Start here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Visual art | The Hay Wain John Constable · 1821 | Forum · Act. 1 There is / there are + prepositions | The National Gallery · The Hay Wain |
| L2 | Film | Paddington Paul King (director); character by Michael Bond · 2014 | Forum · Act. 5 Directions + transport | Visit London · Paddington in London |
| L3 | Theatre | Shakespeare's Globe William Shakespeare (plays) · 1599 (rebuilt 1997) | Assignment · Act. 11 Rules: can / can't / must / mustn't | Shakespeare's Globe · Learn (theatre for students) |
| L4 | Music | The Beatles John, Paul, George and Ringo · 1960s | Forum · Act. 12 Comparatives and superlatives | Art Fund · The Beatles Story museum (Liverpool) |
| L5 | Literature | Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle · 1892 | Assignment · Act. 18 Can + suggestions + dates | Project Gutenberg · The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
| L6 | Film | Wallace & Gromit Aardman Animations (Nick Park) · since 1989 | Forum · Act. 20 Present continuous | Aardman · Wallace & Gromit |
| L7 | Literature | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland · the tea party Lewis Carroll · 1865 | H5P · Act. 24 Some / any + possessive pronouns | Project Gutenberg · Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
| L8 | Theatre | The Mousetrap Agatha Christie · since 1952 | Forum · Act. 27 Would like + uncountable nouns | West End · The Mousetrap (St Martin's Theatre) |
| L9 | Literature | Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen · 1813 | Assignment · Act. 33 Polite requests | Project Gutenberg · Pride and Prejudice |
| L10 | Visual art | William Morris patterns William Morris · 1860s–1890s | Forum · Act. 34 Demonstratives + object pronouns | V&A · Introducing William Morris |
| L11 | Visual art | The London Underground map Harry Beck · 1933 | Assignment · Act. 40 Describing and comparing products | London Transport Museum · Harry Beck's Tube map |
| L12 | Film | Oliver! Carol Reed (director); story by Charles Dickens · 1968 | Forum · Act. 42 How much / how many + quantities | BFI · Oliver! (1968) |
English III · Canada
| Lesson | Art form | Work | Activity · grammar | Start here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Literature | Anne of Green Gables · the tea party L. M. Montgomery · 1908 | Forum · Act. 1 Countable / uncountable + some / any | Project Gutenberg · Anne of Green Gables |
| L2 | Music | Oscar Peterson Oscar Peterson (jazz piano) · 1925–2007 | Forum · Act. 5 Would like, could, will (decisions) | The Canadian Encyclopedia · Oscar Peterson (plain-language summary) |
| L3 | Film | The Cat Came Back Cordell Barker (NFB) · 1988 | Assignment · Act. 11 Recipes: imperatives + sequence | NFB · The Cat Came Back (free film) |
| L4 | Visual art | The Jack Pine Tom Thomson (Group of Seven) · 1916–1917 | Forum · Act. 12 Appointments + need to | National Gallery of Canada · Two Tom Thomson masterpieces |
| L5 | Theatre | The Stratford Festival Many actors and directors · since 1953 | Forum · Act. 16 Symptoms + should + zero conditional | Visit Stratford · The Stratford Festival |
| L6 | Literature | The Paper Bag Princess Robert Munsch · 1980 | Forum · Act. 20 Instructions + frequency | CBC · «The Paper Bag Princess» |
| L7 | Music | Joni Mitchell Joni Mitchell (singer and painter) · born 1943 | Forum · Act. 23 Past simple: was / were + regular verbs | Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan · Joni Mitchell |
| L8 | Film | The Sweater Sheldon Cohen (NFB); story by Roch Carrier · 1980 | Assignment · Act. 29 Irregular past + did questions | NFB · The Sweater (free film) |
| L9 | Visual art | Emily Carr's forests Emily Carr · 1871–1945 | Forum · Act. 31 Comparing trips + feelings | The Canadian Encyclopedia · Emily Carr (plain-language summary) |
| L10 | Theatre | Cirque du Soleil Guy Laliberté and street performers · since 1984 | Forum · Act. 34 Going to vs. will | The Canadian Encyclopedia · Cirque du Soleil's 25th anniversary |
| L11 | Literature | Gabrielle Roy Gabrielle Roy (writer) · 1909–1983 | Assignment · Act. 40 CV: can + past simple | L'Encyclopédie canadienne · Gabrielle Roy |
| L12 | Music | Interviews with musicians on CBC «Q» CBC Radio · today | Forum · Act. 42 Interview: present, past and future | Apple Podcasts · «Q with Tom Power» (CBC) |
Learn English with the arts
Sites made for language learners, or free classics you can read and listen to:
- LyricsTraining · learn English with songs (fill in the lyrics while you listen)
- VOA Learning English · American Stories (slow English, audio + text)
- VOA Learning English · Let's Learn English, Lesson 1 «Welcome!» (video)
- British Council LearnEnglish · Listening practice by level
- Shakespeare's Globe · Learn (theatre for students)
- Project Gutenberg · free e-books (classics in English)
- NFB · National Film Board of Canada (free films online)
- The Canadian Encyclopedia · plain-language summaries for learners
Also useful: British Council LearnEnglish · BBC Learning English · VOA Learning English.