Flp Lis Cohen

Sample Formal Lesson Plan: Listening Leonard Cohen Bruce Lawrence

Objectives: Students will learn different slang and some swearing related to Leonard Cohen and jazz music. Some of this language may be offensive to some, but it is a window into American culture, and hey it sells records. Prerequisites: Students need to have an intermediate level of listening comprehension, because the words are not spoken clearly. Some knowledge of slang is also useful. Level: Intermediate-Advanced; Adults only Duration: 20 minutes dictation and 20 minutes discussion Materials: Leonard Cohen: The Future; lyrics from www.lyrics.com Set up: whole class group work Anticipated problems: Some students will get discouraged because the language is so unclear. Encourage them. Pause the CD if necessary, but make them work at it!

Warm up: T: What did you do on the weekend? S: Sleep. Eat. Watch TV. Go clubbing. Study grammar. T: Did any of you watch TV? S: Y/N T: What did you watch? <Specific Qs> T: Do you know MTV? S: Y/N/a little T: Who is a famous Canadian singer from Montreal? Ss: Various answers. Maybe Celine Dion. T: Do you know Leonard Cohen? S: Y/N T: Who is he? Ss: Various answers. Yeah, when I first went to Korea, I asked my students if they knew any Canadian singers and some of them said “Leonard Cohen.” I was surprised because he is not that famous, not as famous as Celine Dion, but his music is way better. He is French Canadian but he moved to New York where he spent a very long time staring at the light bulb in his room. That’s where he got inspiration for his songs. You can imagine how “dark” they are. Teaching: T: Today you’re going to do a dictation! T: Groan! T: But it will be on Leonard Cohen and a lot of it is dark, poetic language. T: What do you think he will say? What kind of song will he sing? Ss: Silence/various guesses T: Will it be a happy song / a song about love / a song about dancing? Ss: Probably not T: Right

<elicit various words> torture crack anal stuff Stalin

St Paul blizzard threshold repent Jew

riding crop phantoms gown Charlie Manson fetus

<eliciting definitions> T: Who knows what this is? <point to first one? Ss: various guesses/unnerving silence T: Well, is it a nice thing to do? Ss: No T: Who do you do that to? Your friend? Ss: No, enemy. T: Right. Or who else? Ss: an ex boyfriend! T: Yeah, what about the next one? (continue to elicit all swear words) Main activities: <Part I: First listening> T: OK, here is a sheet with the words to the song on them. But you will notice that some of the words are missing. You are going to listen to the song and try to write the correct words in the blanks. I have put spaces to indicate how many words there are in the missing sentence to make it easier. For example in the first line of the chorus, how many words are there Ss: 5 T: Right.OK, everyone ready? Let’s go. <Part II: Pair work> T: OK, that was difficult wasn’t it? So, get together with your partner and work together to try to get all the words.

<Part III: S to T dictation> T: OK, now let’s work together to get the right answers. What was the first blank? T: OK, now to listen again to the song to get the right answers. I’m going to play the tape and pause after each blank and we’ll see if we got it right. T: OK so now that we have all the words right, what does the song mean? Ss: various answers OK, now in groups of 3 discuss these questions. Closure: Yukako, what do you think of question one? Ss: various answers/opinions <elicit opinions from Ss> Wrap up: What does “crack” mean? What does “blizzard” mean? What does “torture to my soul” mean? What is the difference between a “Jew” and a “zoo”? Some people find it offensive, so what is a more polite word for “Jew”? Contingency plan: If students finish early have them use the new vocabulary in a sentence. Homework: Easy: Write three sentences using the new words you learned. Difficult: Write a paragraph stating how to overcome depression!

Leonard Cohen Discussion Questions 1. Do you like the song? 2. What do you think of the lyrics? 3.

What kind of person is Leonard Cohen?

4. Why is he so popular? 5. Have you ever been depressed? 6. Is depression a major problem for you/in the world? 7. Why do people get seriously, chronically depressed? 8.

Do you ever think like him? Why? Why not?

9. Is American/Western culture decaying because of morality? 10. Is Asian culture decaying because of American influence? 11. What do you think about premarital/lesbian/gay/other sex? 12.

How are young Asians and old Asians different in their views about happiness/sex/music/jobs/other?

The Future

Give me back my broken night my mirrored room, my secret life it's lonely here, there's no one left to torture Give me absolute control over every living soul And lie beside me, baby, that's an order! Give me crack and anal sex Take the only tree that's left and stuff it up the hole in your culture Give me back the Berlin wall give me Stalin and St Paul I've seen the future, brother: it is murder. Things are going to slide, slide in all directions Won't be nothing Nothing you can measure anymore The blizzard, the blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold and it has overturned the order of the soul When they said REPENT REPENT I wonder what they meant When they said REPENT REPENT I wonder what they meant When they said REPENT REPENT I wonder what they meant You don't know me from the wind you never will, you never did

I'm the little jew who wrote the Bible I've seen the nations rise and fall I've heard their stories, heard them all but love's the only engine of survival Your servant here, he has been told to say it clear, to say it cold: It's over, it ain't going any further And now the wheels of heaven stop you feel the devil's riding crop Get ready for the future: it is murder There'll be the breaking of the ancient western code Your private life will suddenly explode There'll be phantoms There'll be fires on the road and the white man dancing You'll see a woman hanging upside down her features covered by her fallen gown and all the lousy little poets coming round tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson and the white man dancin' Give me back the Berlin wall Give me Stalin and St Paul Give me Christ or give me Hiroshima Destroy another fetus now We don't like children anyhow I've seen the future, baby: it is murder

The Future

Give me back my broken _______ my mirrored room, my secret _______ it's lonely here,

______ ___ _______ __ ________

there's no one left to _______

_______ __ ___ _________

Give me absolute _______

_____’_ __ _______

over every living _______

_______ ____ ____ _______ _______ ____

And lie beside me, baby, that's an _______! Give me crack and _____ _______

__ ______, __ _______ __ __ _______

Take the only _______ that's left

___ ______ ___ _________

and stuff it up the hole in your _______

___ __ ___ ______ __ ______ __ ___

Give me back the _______ wall

_____

give me _______ and _______

_____ ____ ____ ________, ________

I've seen the future, brother: it is _______.

__ ________ _____ ____ _______

You don't know me from the _______

Your private life will suddenly _______

you never will, you never did

There'll be _______

I'm the little _______

There'll be fires on the _______

who wrote the _______

and the white man _______

I've seen the _______ rise and fall

You'll see a woman hanging upside _______

I've heard their _______, heard them all

her features covered by her fallen _______

but love's the only engine of _______

and all the lousy little poets coming ______

Your servant here, he has been told

tryin' to sound like _______ _______

to say it _______, to say it _______:

and the white man _______

It's over, it ain't going any _______

Give me back the _______ wall

And now the wheels of _______ stop

Give me _______ and _______

you feel the _______ riding crop

Give me _______ or give me _______

Get ready for the future: it is _______

Destroy another _______ now We don't like _______ anyhow

There'll be the breaking of the ancient

I've seen the future, baby:

western _______

it is _______