Learn English through Art & Design

In today’s episode I wanted to look back on 2020 in a positive way and summarise some of the nightlights in terms of creativity island language learning that I discovered. You can find the transcript for today’s episode at www.artyanglais.com/podcast

In today's episode, I'm talking about a video I watched in 2016 by Emilie Wapnicki which helped me to see how my multiple interests could be seen as a superpower! Have any questions or things to comment on? Jump over to the forum. I discuss My backstory and how I came to find the video  Key vocabulary & a tiny bit of grammar!  What is a multipotentialite?  Some interesting points and quotes from the video  3 superpowers of being a multipotentialite  What can you do to manage your life when you are one?  If you want to add your thoughts to the forum www.artyanglais.com/forum If you would like to access the transcript: www.artyanglais.com/podcast 

In today's episode, I'm talking about two important friendships of the street artist Keith Haring. In this episode, we’ll also learn a few expressions and phrasal verbs and you'll also find an additional interactive video lesson to go with it. You can find the transcript for this episode www.artyanglais.com/podcast  To access the transcript you'll need to be a free member of the site. 

In today’s episode I talk about two community art projects that are making connections between artists and the community. You can find the transcript for today’s episode as well as links to discover more about the two projects at www.artyanglais.com/podcast

In today's episode I talk about my the top 5 landscapes/gardens and buildings I've visited in my travels. You'll hear me talk about vocabulary for giving opinions, describing things I'm inspired by, describing places and my travel experiences in the past. You can find the transcript for today's episode as well as links to discover more about these places at www.artyanglais.com/podcast

In today's episode, I'm talking about the secret of being a better designer (and a better language learner)- by noticing more. This is based on a video I watched by Tony Fadell: The First Secret of Design is Noticing. I really liked a lot of what he said so I'm going to discuss some of the things he talked about in relation to being a good designer but also how you can take some of the things he discussed can also apply to your language learning. In today’s episode I’m also going to give you some good examples of expressions and phrasal verbs related to noticing. You can find the transcript for todays episode at www.artyanglais.com/podcast You’ll need to sign up as a member but it’s free to do so.

In today’s episode I am talking about the importance of friendships, companionships, and rivalries amongst artists. You can find all the links and transcript for today’s episode at www.artyanglais.com/podcast You’ll need to become a free member to our access all the transcripts to the episodes.

Today I’m charging things up and bringing you an unplanned Episode from outside in the sunshine. I’m a little sick of staring at my computer so today I’m bringing you an Episode from the river next to my house. Today I’m talking about my top 5 tips for staying motivated when learning a language. These are 5 things I do to keep my eye on the prize! You can find the transcript for today’s episode www.artyanglais.com/podcast

In today's episode, I'm talking about five projects or artists that are raising awareness about important social and cultural issues. I believe artists have a unique perspective and have the power to be able to raise awareness about inequality and bring to light the things we might sometimes ignore.Today I'm going to talk about:Illustrators Celebrating Diversity particular an article I read on Deezeen. Pride Month - the 21 Day Challenge Outings Project Comic Book Route in Brussels The Artist - ChristoYou'll find the transcript, vocabulary and links with this website at www.artyanglais.com/podcast

In today’s episode, I’m using a short video for today’s topic question: When is art design and when is design art? See the video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UxZehKGMrAI ask the question: does it really matter? I also share examples of artists, designers and design movements that 'blur the boundaries' between disciplines. You can find the transcript and key vocabulary for today’s episode on our website. www.artyanglais.com/podcast

In today's episode, I'm talking about being bilingual and if it makes you more creative. I think it does, but I wanted to find an article with real research to back up my beliefs! What do you think?  You can find the article that I talk about in today's episode here.  You can find the transcript and vocabulary from today's episode here: www.artyanglais.com/podcast  You'll need to sign up as a free member of the site to access the transcripts.

In today's episode, I'm talking about how flow brings out your potential. We talk about how being in a state of flow allows you to show your skills.  You can find the article from the BBC that I talk about in today's episode here.  You can find the transcript and vocabulary from today's episode here: www.artyanglais.com/podcast  You'll need to sign up as a free member of the site to access the transcripts.

In today's episode, I'm talking about How art during the global pandemic has brought us closer together. This was inspired by an article I read on the UNESCO website: Even during COVID-19, art ‘brings us closer together than ever’ – UN cultural agency I'm going o share with you my own thoughts on what I have experienced during this time and read parts of the article.  You can find the transcript and vocabulary from today's episode here: www.artyanglais.com/podcast   You can see an example of this togetherness above. Wetransfer is donating 30% of their advertising space to creatives they admire and causes they care about.

Episode 21 A Pecha Kucha Presentation - Why I like Street Art and Graffiti Welcome to Episode 21 of the Arty Anglais Podcast, the podcast where we talk about art culture and society to help you learn English naturally. You’ll hear me talk about art and English in a different way so you can learn English in context.Hey everyone, and welcome back to Episode 21 of the Arty Anglais podcast. I hope you enjoyed the last episode where I talked about my top 5 tips for giving good presentations.I talked about Pecha Kucha and a style of presentation with only images. You can listen to Episode 20 if you want to find out more. Today I thought I’d do one myself. I decided to talk about why I like street art because it’s something I'm passionate about. Today’s episode has quite a few expressions and you’ll find the vocabulary, the transcript and the presentation of the image that goes with the words here: www.artyanglais.com/podcastRemember to access the transcript it's free to do so but you just need to sign up to be a free member of the site.

In today's episode, I'm talking about my top 5 Tips for Giving Good Presentations and How to do a Pecha Kucha style presentation. This was inspired by a question from Conversation Starters World: Have you ever given a presentation in front of a lot of people?  I'll talk about a few of my examples as well as what a Pecha Kucha style presentation is. If visual presentations are your thing, you'll find this episode useful.  You can find Vocabulary and Transcript in Episode 20 on the Arty Anglais website. www.artyanglais.com/podcast as well as all links mentioned in this podcast. If you're an ESL teacher or you just want to find some prompts to practice you're writing, you'll also find a list of discussion questions based on this episode. You'll also have the opportunity to see if you can find out the meanings to some expressions I found in a number of Petcha Kutcha style presentations.  discussion questions if your an ESL teacher or if you just want some prompts to practice your writing. Links mentioned in today's episode:  Pecha Kucha  How to make great presentations the Pecha Kutcha Way  ToastMasters

Hey everyone, and welcome to Episode 19 the Arty Anglais podcast, the podcast where we talk about art, culture and society to help you learn English naturally. Great news! All my episodes will now be transcribed and you’ll be able to find the transcripts on the website www.artyanglais.com/podcastTranscripts will appear 60 minutes after each episode is published. So check back if the transcript isn't ready. So from now on, all the longer Episodes, Art of Conversation Episodes and Lessons will now all just be in the same place and each episode will be numbered no matter what type of episode it is.Today I’m going to talk about a TEDTalk I saw recently which was from 2016 called:A project of Peace painted across 50 buildings. (Click here to see the video or watch it in the transcript for today's episode).  The video is a presentation by eL Seed who is a French-Tunisian street artist. His work incorporates traditional Arabic calligraphy, a style he calls calligraffiti. Which is a composite term of calli - from the word calligraphy and graffiti.Find out more about el Seed here.I wanted to share this video with you for three reasons:The message behind his story is important - to be aware of and sensitive to cultural difference.The project is very moving and emotional and I think during this in this time it shows the importance of human connection, togetherness and trying to understand othersEnglish is his third or second language. When you watch the video you might need subtitles because at times it is challenging to understand his pronunciation. However, I wanted you to hear it because you will see that despite some little mistakes and some challenges with pronunciation, the audience is so captivated and engaged with everything he has to say. You will see what I mean.So before we discuss anything about the video and before you watch it I want to share with you two things to do while you watch the video. It’s 10 minutes long so not very long so you should be able to watch it a few times.In the video, he shares a quote in Arabic which translates in English to -Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eyes first. I want you to think about how this quote is linked to this project and what it means to you. Vocabulary in the Video: Anamorphic - Relating to producing different optical imaging effects or illusions. He created an anamorphic piece which means he painted several different buildings so that when the builds are viewed from far away or a vantage point it creates one big image. It’s an optical illusion that looks different from far away compared to close up. unity - coming together as a whole. For example, all the buildings come together to create one image. The people also come together as a community. Perceive something - verb to be aware of something or come to realise something in a different way.Perception - noun - is the way you think about something, your ideas based on your experience and background. neglected - suffering or lack of proper care Isolated - far away from other places, buildings, or people; remote.The key person of the project - the main person who allowed the project to happenThe project moved him - to emotionally affect someone so strongly.Open a dialogue - start talking about a sensitive issue or to start talking about somethingTo relate to something - To put yourself in someone’s shoes - Discussion Questions:  1. What’s the difference between Live from the garbage Live in the garbage 2. What is the difference between ‘shining light on something’ and  ‘bringing light to someone  or something3. If you want to see the real person maybe you should change your angle. What does this mean? Why did he say this?  4. Do you think the artist thought the finished product was more important or the journey? Why?Links Interview in FrenchArts and Culture Panel Discussion

Welcome back to The Arty Anglais Podcast. If you're learning English and you're curious about arts and culture then you have landed on the right place. We teach English in context by talking about interesting and creative subjects. In today's episode we discuss Japanese Woodblock Prints and Ukiyo-e. Transcript available here.https://www.artyanglais.com/post/woodblockprintsToday I talk aboutWhat is Ukiyo-e art ?Who are some of the artists?The process and the materials used for of Ukiyo-eModern-day forms of the artWomen in the Edo Period  To find out more about Ukiyo-e you can read about it on Google Arts and Culture.  You can stay in contact by sending an email to info@artyanglais.com or following us on Instagram  @artyanglais.

Every piece of Art you’ve ever wanted to see up close and searchable Today I wanted to do an extension lesson on a short podcast I did about Google Arts culture. Today's lesson is focused around two videos by Amid Sood.Building a museum of museums on the webhttps://www.ted.com/talks/amit_sood_building_a_museum_of_museums_on_the_webEvery piece of Art you’ve ever wanted to see up close and searchable https://www.ted.com/talks/amit_sood_every_piece_of_art_you_ve_ever_wanted_to_see_up_close_and_searchableDriven by his passion for art, Amit Sood tells the story of how he developed an Art Project to let people all around the world visit some amazing places. This is a video very relevant in today's time. We talk about the accessibility of art for people around the world and how this project is changing how we access art.In the second video, you’ll join Amid Sood and Google artist in residence Cyril Diagne in a mind-bending demo from the Cultural Institute and glimpse the exciting future of accessibility to arts and culture. I think this is also particularly relevant for education today so that for example students in India, has access to some of these artefacts.Who is Amit Sood? He is the director of Google's Cultural Institute. He stresses that he isn’t an artist himself nor is he an expert but he is passionate about making art accessible to everyone (as am I). He and his team work on making art and culture accessible and engaging for everyone. They have partnered with over 1,000 museums, archives and other institutions from more than 70 countries to bring our shared heritage onto the web and connect them with people through new technologies. They have been experimenting with combining art with machine learning algorithms and other advanced technologies to create new ways to explore our cultures.VocabularyPitch an idea - presenting an idea to someoneTo make something more accessible - make it easier for people to be able to use it or see itThe best if yet to come - this is only the start - good things have happened but even more good things are still going to comeDo justice to their artwork - to present or show something in a way that means it is being fairly representing and getting the praise it deservesTo be blown away - a phrasal verb which means you were really impressed with somethingGet a taste of something - you get to experience a little something that helps you to understand what it might be like to be thereVocabulary for giving an optiontheoretically - in a way that relates to the theory of a subject or area rather than experiences. For example, theoretically, all people could walk for an hour without stopping.personally - in my opinionundoubtedly - there is no doubtOtherwise - the contraryWithout a doubt - there is no doubtAs far as I’m concerned - in my strong opinionI’m under the impression that - I thought thatIn my view - in my opinion Do you agree with these statements? If it was free to go to a museum, more people would go.   Britain has many free museums but I read an article recently where the author thought that museums should be free.https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/jul/23/museums-should-charge-entrance-feesMost of the world are living without access to arts and cultureBeing able to see a painting up close from the comfort of your own home gives you more time to learn about the painting. Artwork collections should be rotated more often into different galleries so more people around the world can see them. Money made from ticket entries should go into arts and cultural fundingExpression - That goes without saying - meaning that is obvious! Of course, it should.It’s a good idea that museums are accessible online and to everyone?  Do you think Google Arts and Culture replicates the experience of being in a museum? Is going to a museum something you only do when you go on vacation? Everyone should make virtual exhibitionsArtsteps is a a web-based environment that allows its members to

Does music help us work better? Today’s episode is based on an article I read on the BBC. You will be able to read it here: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200317-does-music-help-us-work-it-dependsI was desperately trying to find something a little more interesting and more positive amid all this talk of coronavirus. So today we are going to discuss the topic of the article. Firstly, I’m going to share my opinion based on my own anecdotal evidence. Then I’m going to invite you to read the article and tell me what you think.I’m going to talk about some vocabulary items you’ll encounter and some interesting expressions.Then I’m going to talk about what my opinion was after reading the article.Vocabulary:arguably - it may be argued (used to qualify the statement of an opinion or belief)Arguably it’s better to listen to classical music than rock music at work.bespoke - made for a particular person in a personalised wayproductivity - the state or quality of being productive such as getting a lot doneperception - noun the way in which something is regarded, understood or interpreted.detrimental - adjective to describe something which means tending to cause harm.beneficial - adjective to describe something (opposite to detrimental) resulting in good; favourable or advantageous.reportedly according to what some say and it is used to express the speaker's belief that the information given is not necessarily true).getting into the zone - being in kind of a certain state of mind with which one is feeling focusedthere’s no one-size-fits-all recipe - one size fits all is an adjective to describe something that is or isn’t suitable for everyone or every purpose. An individual person’s response to music is based on so many factors that it’s almost impossible to study. Questions after reading the article Do you think music can have an impact on your productivity at work? Do you think it depends on the type of music you listen to? What type of music disrupts your concentration? What type of music gets you in the zone? Arguments that suggest music is good for productivity:Increased productivity by 12-15% in the factory during the time of the warIncrease productivity and motivation in some officesMusic makes us feel good and therefore helps us to plod on with otherwise boring tasks.Mozart Effect - listening to Mozart for 10 minutes can help your performance on certain tasksKeeps you active during boring tasks, so listening to music can increase your attentionMakes you more relaxed which is what increases productivity, not the music itself Arguments that suggest music isn’t good for productivity: Some scientists believe our perception is skewed. Music is seen as a reward and therefore we might work harder in these conditions.Music can be detrimental to our brain functions during complex tasksThere is no 'one-size-fits all' explantation.

Today’s English lesson episode is about how Street Art can end up in a Gallery. I’m specifically going to talk a little about a video I watched about the Urban Nation Gallery in Berlin.You can find the video I’m talking about in today’s episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGzwWzeL0m4I’ve spoken about this gallery before on the podcast. But first, let’s do something I sometimes do as a warm-up. As a warm-up, I give my students some newspaper headlines and they have to guess what the missing word might be. Let’s have a look at two different ones from the BBC and if you’re interested, I’ll put the link to the article in the show description.Newspaper headlinesCan you guess the missing word? Does __________ help us work better? It depends?What do you think?Actual Article here Why we need to ________ more?Actual Article here I’m going to use the first article in a future lesson episode but now, let’s look at today’s video about Urban Nation Gallery.VocabularyEphemeral - not permanent or lasting for a short amount of timeTransitory - not permanentStreet art is something we describe as being ephemeral or transitory because it doesn’t always last long. What other things can you think of that are ephemeral or transitory?Physical things like waves and the flow of water are ephemeral because they are always changing. I also think that social media is very ephemeral. For example, different hashtags and trends are always changing with current events.Aesthetics - a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty.Showcase - a place or occasion for showing or presenting a collection of things Indescribable - too unusual, extreme, or indefinite to be adequately described.Posterity - future generations of people. For example Every attempt is being made to ensure that these works of art are preserved for posterity.Curated - selected, organised, and presented using professional or expert knowledge Questions before watching the video Favourite art style or art? Maluda (a Portuguese artist) https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Maluda/51C4DA4DD8E6A65AMichael Murphy https://www.supersonicmodern.com/How often do you go to museums or galleries? What artists/designers do you admire? Jo Di Bona https://jodibona.com/bio/Is graffiti art? What do you think it means - Street artists are getting their due now because people have started to think of them as real artists. - Praised even though criticised normally. Can Street Artwork in a museum also? Why and Why not? Questions for After watching the video:Know of any other galleries showing street art?Would you go to a gallery for street art?Would you go to the gallery in Berlin?Any questions - get in contact info@artyanglais.com