Murder, Manslaughter and Michael Jackson: A Class Debate

This coming week, August 31--September 4, the Conversation Class will focus on the death of Michael Jackson and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)'s pending criminal case against Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray (see photo, left).

On Tuesday, September 1, class members will make short group presentations about topics related to Jackson's death: What happened on the night and morning before Jackson died? (Group 1); What drugs did Dr. Conrad gave to Jackson and what their dangers and effects? (Group 2); What are you supposed to do someone stops breathing? (Group 3); and, What other drugs was Jackson addicted to and what doctors gave him these drugs? (Group 4).

(See class handout from Thursday's class here, which includes links to recommended stories to help in your research. Click here for tips on making a good group presentation.)

I will explain the difference between "murder" and "manslaughter" and how these terms are used by police departments and courts of law in the state of California, where Jackson was killed.

The media is speculating that Dr. Murray will be charged with the crime of manslaughter, an event that will probably make the news this week. But members of the Jackson family, including Michael's sister LaToya, have said that Murray and other doctors should be charged with murder. The Jackson family's lawyer Brian Oxman told reporters in July that Michael Jackson was afraid of being murdered. As reported in the Boston Globe (July 1):

The pop superstar was reportedly terrified of being murdered for his money
or the music publishing rights he owned, which included his own work and
over 200 songs from the Beatles back catalogue. The rights are estimated to
be worth over £600 million.

On Thursday, September 3, we will have a class debate: Is Dr. Conrad Murray guilty of killing Michael Jackson or are other people guilty as well? If Dr. Murray is guilty, what crime should he be charged with, manslaughter or murder?

Note: If you missed class on Thursday, you are in Group 4 and need to present on that topic. Email me to coordinate with the other members of your group.

Starting to Talk about Movies

We begin to talk about movies this week, an activity that can help us improve our spoken English in so many ways. There are literally thousands of things that we can say about any given film. What elements will this course focus on?

First, we have begun to learn the basic terms in English for talking about movies and film in general. What are "genre," "setting," "plot" and "the climax"? How do we construct grammatically correct sentences that ask and answer basic questions about a movie? Last week's Movie Language Handout and Movie Riddles game gave us the tools to do just that. (These links are also provided in the sidebar on the left.)

Keep these class handouts in your notebook because you will be referring to them thoughout the semester each time we study a new film.

A main objective of this course is to be able to summarize a movie's plot or part of it. That brings me to our second area of focus: To practice retelling what happens in an individual movie scene. This activity involves describing characters' actions and what happens as a result. It requires that we have a good command of verb tenses and that we be able to remember what happens, when it happens and why it happens.

We begin to practice the art of summarizing this week with the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1991), a classic action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg.

This opening scene contains 13 nonstop minutes of mystery, terror, pursuit, close calls and gruesome deaths. Of the three characters we see in the opening minutes of the film, only one is alive at the end of Scene 1--our hero, of course. By then, he's met his arch-enemy and rival and has come face-to-face with the one creature he fears: snakes.

Click here to view and/or download the class worksheet for Scene 1 of Raiders of the Lost Ark, which also contains our homework assignment for Thursday.

You see, I like doing things, not reading about them.
―Indiana Jones to a co-worker, in 1917 Petrograd

Poll Results: Why Are You Taking an English Conversation Class?

The online poll on "Why Are You Taking an English Conversation Class" has just closed. Fourteen out of sixteen class members took the poll (shame on the two of you who didn't vote!), and the results are in.

The largest majority of students (71 %) are taking the class because they need good spoken English to get ahead in their careers. The second most common reason for enrolling in HU150 is to better enjoy movies and TV shows in English.

Here are the complete results (multiple answers were allowed):

I want to improve my English so I can make new friends.
6 (42%)

I need good spoken English skills in my chosen career path.
10 (71%)

I would like to travel to the United States and other English-speaking countries some day.
1 (7%)

I am required to take this class for my degree at UPC.
5 (35%)

I want to better understand English-language movies and TV shows.
8 (57%)

I think it's cool to be able to speak another language.
6 (42%)

My parents told me I had to!
0 (0%)

Michael Jackson's Burial

Last Thursday, August 20, we read and discussed a BBC report on "Jackson's Birthday Burial," dated August 19. The report is part of Words in the News, an ongoing series of articles and lessons produced by the BBC for students of English. We will be studying and discussing Words in the News reports throughout the semester as part of our in-class and out-of-class coursework.

Before we listened to the audio recording online and read along with the article, the class brainstormed on words that we might expect to see in a story about burying the King of Pop (see a photo of Jackson taken in 1982 for his album "Thriller," above). "Cemetery," "to bury" and "deceased" were among the words that did, indeed, appear in the BBC's article, which triggered an unusual class discussion on things one says at a funeral!

The phrase "to lay to rest" is a polite way to say "to bury" in English. ("He was laid to rest last week.") The custom of using gentler language to describe things related to death is a commonality between Peruvian and American and British cultures.

The vocabulary we discussed will be helpful for those who like to watch the award-winning HBO series Six Feet Under, which is set in and around a funeral parlor in the United States.

Our homework assignment for Tuesday, August 25, is to read the full BBC article ("Jackson to Be Buried on Birthday") and to find three additional facts in that article that weren't mentioned in the shorter story we read on Thursday. Come to class with your three facts and be prepared to discuss them.

One important detail not mentioned in "Jackson to Be Buried on Birthday" is that the pop star's burial plans have been delayed yet again. On Friday, August 21, the Jackson family announced that the date has been pushed back to September 3.

I wonder if this is the last time the burial will be postponed?

Welcome to the Conversation Class

It's a pleasure to meet everyone who has signed up for this semester's Conversation Class at UPC.

Our class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 2 to 4 p.m., in building D.

I start class promptly on the hour and take attendance at five minutes after the hour, so please be on time. Your contributions are so important to making this a successful interactive class.

You will have plenty of opportunities to talk and share your opinions in this class. We will be watching film scenes and retelling what happens, analyzing characters in film and short stories, summarizing news stories, making comments, giving short oral presentations, and much more.

View the course syllabus by clicking here.

Welcome!