Teaching Materials

Contemporary interpretations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth

The task prepared by dr Ewa Bandura

1.Compare different film and theatre productions of Macbeth. Which interpretation of the
appearance of Banquo’s ghost in Act 3 scene 4 do you like best? Why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZkpLg8dksg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx2vkK_tX2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8iTDtPdt18

2. Compare different translations and recordings of Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 5 scene 5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuavC5dXCi8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuGTaHpozog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LDdyafsR7g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzkIFRSwOPQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZnaXDRwu84
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48Gxm3FFzw4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoJLDRkkY6E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odkw78XYrDk

The task prepared by dr Oksana Skryl and dr Ewa Bandura

The task prepared by dr Oksana Skryl and dr Ewa Bandura

1. While talking to a person not familiar with Polish culture, how would you explain what we mean by ‘barszcz’? Is it easy to translate or explain its meaning?
2. Is it just a kind of soup? Do you know any sayings/ proverbs /stories connected with it?
3. Imagine drawing (filming) someone eating it. What will be in your picture? Check the Internet images for ‘barszcz’.
4. How much do Ukrainian ‘borscht’ and Polish ‘barszcz’ have in common?
5. After reading the material below a) discuss how important for communication it is to learn moreabout words or concepts so closely related to a particular culture b) think of other words in Polish or English that may be difficult to explain to a person not familiar with a given culture.

https://ukrainian-recipes.com/ukrainian-borsch.html

Culinary masterpiece and pride of Ukraine - Borsch

Borsch (beetroot soup) is not just a traditional Ukrainian daily meal, it’s a symbol of unity - the basis of the culinary tradition of Ukraine, which is stronger than any modern experiments and overseas borrowings. Borsch is a dish with a national character. It is primarily associated with Ukraine. This “association” smells delicious and promises warmth, comfort, fullness, and, thus, sense of peace. When Ukrainians choose to cook borsch as their everyday main dish - their express their patriotism and show their love for Ukraine.

In Ukraine, borsch has long been considered a symbol of a strong family: all the ingredients are cooked in a clay pot, transferring their flavors to each other, and as a result become one whole – a rich, hearty, and dense borsch. In days of old, borsch was eaten almost every day, served on holidays and at weddings. The peculiarity of this dish is that it becomes tastier the next day when flavors are well blended together.
The word borsch itself originated from the Old Slavonic word "b’rshch" (beet). This vegetable is an indispensable part of all borsch recipes. It gives borsch its very taste and color, while fragrant onion and garlic give emotional-to-tears piquancy, and burning pepper gives a zest reflecting Ukrainian sharp sense of humor and self-irony.

Red (classic) borsch

The classic red beet soup always included beet. Fresh pork salo (fat) crushed with garlic, salt, and culinary plants was added to the soup at the end of boiling. Then the pot with borsch was covered with a lid and left for at least half an hour to infuse (the longer the better).

Green (spring) borsch

This soup was boiled with fresh sorrel, nettle, saltbush, and young beetroot leaves. Ukrainians also added boiled eggs, and sour cream or whey. During Lent, the meat was replaced with fish or mushrooms.

Cold (summer) borsch

This soup was cooked on hot summer days. Young beet was boiled, cut into strips and mixed with kvass, and whey or sour cream. Then fresh parsley, dill, spring onion and garlic were added. Boiled eggs were also included. This borsch was served chilled with bread and boiled potato.

Different in all corners of Ukraine

Though Ukrainian beet soup has several dozens of tasty variations, depending on the region where it is cooked, yet it always and everywhere remains to be borsch.
People who live in the Carpathians add pickled cabbage to their borsch.

In Chernihiv region, Ukrainians cook borsch with “mushroom ears" (dumplings with mushrooms) and call it “Pereiaslavskyi.”

In Poltavshchyna people boil borsch using chicken broth and always add halushky (lazy dumplings) that are traditional for their region. 

The residents of Zhytomyr region have two borsch varieties: “poliskyi” – soup with dried loaches and mushrooms and "korostenskyi" – the one cooked with dried fruits. In ancient times, people who lived in Halychyna boiled very thin beet soup using only potato and beet and added a cherry or apple juice for a slightly sour taste.

Multiple Intelligences Theory

The task prepared by dr hab. Monika Kusiak-Pisowacka

Let’s think about how people learn – different learning styles. One theory that accounts for learningdifferences is the Theory of Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner. Although this theory has been found controversial, it is still very influential in education, also FL teaching.
For general information about the theory, watch:

https://youtu.be/s2EdujrM0vA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUOxUeCdVV8

For opinions expressed by prof. Howard Gardner himself, watch this TED presentation:
https://youtu.be/IfzrN2yMBaQ

Then think about yourself as a learner. Complete the questionnaire attached to this post and calculate your scores. Then answer the following questions:

1. According to the scores, which is your primary learning style: visual, auditory or kinesthetic?
2. Do you have one strong and one weak learning style or do you have an even mixture of styles?
3. Do you agree with the scores?
4. How could you improve your weakest learning style?
5. How can your dominant learning style help you in learning English?
5. Compare your scores with your friend’s scores? Do you both learn in the same way?

The magic of learning English

The task prepared by dr hab. Monika Kusiak-Pisowacka on the basis of the video with Ramon Shindler

Learning a foreign language could be difficult, boring, painful ….
But it can also be a nice adventure with a bit of magic.
Listen to Ramon Schindler talking about himself as a language learner and giving advice how to learn a foreign language.
https://youtu.be/Q9iNd_2cWnI

Answer the following questions.
1. What are the ten things Ramon recommends to make language learning a magical experience?
2/ What does Ramon mean by saying the following:
a/ I used to be a native speaker.
b/ Learning language is a working progress.
c/ “feeling comprehension”
d/”doprowadzić do września”
e/ Sometimes nonsense is better than no sense.
f/ Learning chunks of language can give you confidence.

Digital poetry activities 

The task prepared by dr Marcin Kleban

Activities:  

• Compose a poem with the following generator: https://www.poem-generator.org.uk/quick/  It could be a quick poem, it could be a sad or happy poem 

• Try some other poetry generators. For example: https://sites.research.google/versebyverse/  

• What can you learn by using such poetry generators? 

Discussion:  

• How would you evaluate the machine generated poetry?  
• Will computers ever be able to replace humans in artistic activities? Why? Why not?