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Half Nelson

Date: Jul 25 2007

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

How much do we really know about the people we see every day? It’s not likely that your boss or professor is secretly addicted to drugs, but it’s possible. You never know.

Half Nelson is a recent film about a teacher with a secret, illicit life. Interestingly enough, he teaches his class about opposites throughout history as he leads a double life. Listen to Marni talk to Kevin about it.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Kevin

Marni: So I just watched Half Nelson...

Kevin: Josh Gosling.

Marni: Or Ryan Gosling.

Kevin: I always forget. I get his name confused.

Marni: We’ll have to Google it when we get home.

Kevin: How is it?

Marni: It was excellent. You haven’t seen it?

Kevin: No, but I saw that he was nominated for Best Supporting?

Marni: Best Actor. Best Actor. Very impressive, I think, of the Academy because it was a pretty intense roll, pretty out there. Anyhow, the film is about…He plays a teacher, middle school teacher, and he’s also a crack addict. And the whole film is about opposites. That’s the theme of the film, the duality of yin and yang, and he’s actually teaching this in his class, and then it’s the greater theme of the film because here you have this person who’s a teacher, who’s supposed to embody all the virtue…

Kevin: Be a role model.

Marni: Exactly, be a good role model, all that, and in his personal life he chooses to be…

Kevin: He’s nuts.

Marni: Exactly. Total wreck.

Kevin: Is he a good teacher?

Marni: He is a great teacher, that’s the thing. You’re just rooting for him because he’s such a charismatic teacher and he has the ability to really connect with these kids and it’s inner city, he’s this white teacher, young…

Kevin: What city does it take place in?

Marni: It doesn’t actually say. It sort of alludes to Brooklyn, that was my take. Just throughout the film you’re rooting for him and then you just see this sort of downward spiral, but it’s good, it’s honest.

Kevin: It sounds very good.

Marni: It is. I highly recommend it.

Kevin: I’ll have to see it.

Marni: And we’ll have to Google his name, Ryan or Josh.

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Discussion

Marni and Kevin can’t remember the name of the star of Half Nelson. Kevin thinks he’s Josh Gosling, and Marni thinks he’s Ryan. They agree to look it up on the Internet when they get home. When they do so, they’ll discover that Marni is right. The star’s name is Ryan Gosling and he was nominated for a very big award for his performance in the film.

Marni explains that the movie is about a very talented teacher who is also secretly a drug addict. Kevin asks where the movie takes place and Marni guesses Brooklyn, New York. If she Googles that bit of information when she looks up Gosling’s first name she’ll find that she’s right about that too.

Do you do something that no one at your workplace knows about? Do you know anyone with a secret double life?

Comments

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hudengkui

China

do you know anyone with a secret double life? indeed , i know it survives,since that is considered as "secret",i think we all should cover it,not only for others but also for ourselves!