INTRODUCE
Some people feel that there’s a difference between being a singer and being a musical artist. For them, singers are people who have a natural talent for singing, while artists are people who focus more on their overall image and performance.
PRESENT
STEP A EXPRESSIONS
Go over the first two expressions with your tutor and answer the questions. Then, guess the meaning of the third expression based on the clues provided.
1. To lip sync means to silently move your mouth and pretend to sing along to a recorded song.
Singers sometimes lip sync when they’re sick.
Q: Do you know a singer who lip syncs when he/she performs?
2. Someone is a phony when he/she isn’t what he/she pretends to be.
He claims he’s a doctor, but he’s just a phony. He never even went to medical school!
Q: Do you know anyone who’s a phony?
3. .
Self-driving cars could be a boon or a bane. They could give people more free time, but they could also malfunction and hurt people.
Q: What do you think a boon or a bane means?
STEP B SPEAK YOUR MIND
Sometimes you want to express that you’re surprised and disagree with what someone just said.
I think that’s her worst album.
You’ve got to be kidding! That’s her best one yet!
UNDERSTAND
SPEAKING
A Japanese man, Daiki, is watching TV with his Filipino friend, Mark.
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- Mark:
Daiki, please remind me why we’re watching this show again.
- Daiki:
(laughs) What do you mean? They’re my favorite singers.
- Mark:
You call the Sole Sisters ‘singers’?! You’ve got to be kidding! All they do is dance, pose for photos, and appear on TV.
- Daiki:
Huh? Are we watching the same show? Because I can clearly see them singing from here.
- Mark:
They’re not actually singing, Daiki. Watch closely. They’re clearly just lip syncing.
- Daiki:
Well, if they’re really lip syncing, what’s so wrong with that? Singers go on tours that can last for months, and that can be really tiring. All that performing and singing can affect their voices, you know.
- Mark:
Okay. Maybe lip syncing is fine sometimes, but Sole Sisters don’t just lip sync – they clearly use Auto-Tune on all their songs. I bet they can’t really sing at all!
- Daiki:
That’s not true! Some really good singers use Auto-Tune because they like the effect. Besides, I don’t think they would earn so much if they weren’t talented.
- Mark:
Are you serious? Honestly, I think they’re just a bunch of phonies! What’s worse is that they take the spotlight from real singers who don’t use Auto-Tune.
- Daiki:
Okay, okay. I admit Auto-Tune does make it easy for anyone to make their voice sound better and that’s not fair to singers who work hard to improve their singing, and I understand how Auto-Tune could be a boon or a bane to the music industry. But that doesn’t change my feelings about Sole Sisters. I still support them even if they do use Auto-Tune because there’s nothing wrong with it. If I were a singer, I would probably use it too.
- Mark:
Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I’ve heard you at karaoke before. (laughs)
TRIVIA
Auto-Tune is often used in the music industry, but did you know that it was actually created by an oil engineer? He first developed the software to make it easier to find oil underground. Later, he turned it into software that could correct the pitch of recorded songs.
PRACTICE
Complete the dialogues using the instructions in the parentheses and the expressions in the box. Some expressions may be used more than once, and the form of some expressions may need to be changed.
1.
Tutor: Didn’t that singer say she always sings live?
Student: Yeah, but apparently she lost her voice right before the show. (Say that she didn’t want to cancel it, so she decided to turn off her mic and use a pre-recorded track.)
2.
Tutor: Do you think it’s good that kids these days grow up using cellphones almost from birth?
Student: I think it’s too early to tell. (Say that it could have a good or a bad effect.)
3.
Tutor: I just got off the phone with a travel agent who offered me tickets to Hawaii for only $50!
Student: And you believed that scam? (Say that he was clearly not a real travel agent.)
4.
Tutor: Whoa, is Michael really singing this song?
Student: No, no! (Say that he’s just really good at pretending to sing.)
5.
Tutor: I heard one of the contestants was disqualified from the game show.
Student: Yeah, the staff looked into her background. (Say that they found out that she had lied about everything.)
CHALLENGE
Challenge 1
You and your friend talked before about seeing both Tyler Price and 99 Degrees in concert when they come to Japan. Unfortunately, both of their concerts are scheduled to happen in your city on the same night! Discuss with your friend which concert you want to go to.
Today's Expressions
- lip sync
- a phony
- a boon or a bane
Speak Your Mind
- You’ve got to be kidding!
Tyler Price |
99 Degrees |
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Awards
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Awards
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Challenge 2
What do you think? What does your tutor think? Discuss.
If TimeAllows
1 AUTO-TUNE |
2 PHONIES |
|---|---|
|
1 AUTO-TUNE
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2PHONIES
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FEEDBACK
I can discuss the idea of singers vs. artists.
LESSON GOAL ACHIEVEMENT
-
4
Very GoodCould complete the task with ease
-
3
GoodCould complete the task with some clarifications
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2
FairCould complete the task with additional instructions
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1
PoorCould somehow complete the task with difficulty
PERSONALIZED FEEDBACK
- RANGE
the ability to use a wide variety of vocabulary - ACCURACY
the ability to speak correctly - FLUENCY
the ability to speak smoothly without pauses or fillers - COHERENCE
the ability to speak logically and at length
