Tertulia July 2025
- Andrew Starr
- 5 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
This is the blog post for English classes and local tours for the Italian group for July 2025.
A shortened link is rebrand.ly/ttit25
One way to improve your English in Italy is to immerse yourself in the English language for at least a few hours per week.
Listening to the radio is an everyday activity, and watching TV is another popular pastime, especially when possible. Much of the BBC and similar companies' output is blocked outside the UK.
English at C1
Local Information
To help you with English Pronunciation
Dearest Creature in Creation - a wonderful poem written by a Dutchman about the intricacies of English pronunciation.
*************************************
Friday, July 18th
Final class before your exams in London.
Thursday, July 17th
Wednesday, July 16th
UK Regional Accents
Welsh
Glaswegian
Liverpool
West Country
Newcastle
London
Song - Newport State of Mind - The Welsh Accent
Tuesday, July 15th
Instead of being in a classroom today, we will conduct our learning outside.
You should make notes (or audio recordings) and take lots of photos so you can create presentations on certain aspects of your choice from what you see this morning.
Tour of Portsmouth North (Portsdown Hill and Hilsea Lines)
We will meet first by 9:30 (you need to plan your bus travel).
The George Inn - Portsmouth Bus Stop (Bus Route 7, 8 & 20)
We will walk to the Portsdown Hill viewpoint, where we can conduct a nature study and take in the panoramic view of Portsmouth and the central southern coast of England.
The Hilsea Lido by around 11:00. (Bus Route 7, 8, 20, 2, 3, 18, 20, 23, 700)
We will conduct a short tour of Hilsea Lines (the sea wall and the lido are being rebuilt). Hilsea Nature
Monday, July 14th
Prepare a three to four-minute presentation in English about at least one famous person from Portsmouth.
Friday, July 11th
Thursday, July 10th
Wednesday, July 9th* - (with another leader - working on a translation, research and writing exercise)
OR... Prepare a written and spoken (3 to 5-minute long) presentation in English of a tourist destination near your home in Italy. If you all live in the same district, you should choose a wider selection of interesting places to present.
Alternatively, you could prepare a three- to four-minute segment about the new foods you've tried while in Portsmouth.
You could work in pairs as long as you both present using the correct timings.
Translation of sections of the Millennium Walk Guide.
Tuesday, July 8th
Traditional Food and drink of the United Kingdom
Prepare a three to four-minute presentation in English about at least one famous person from Portsmouth.
Alternatively, you could prepare a three- to four-minute segment about the new foods you've tried while in Portsmouth.
The Pub Menu...
The Fleet (Opposite the Park Building of the University of Portsmouth)
Traditional English Foods
The Full English Breakfast
Something for toast
British Council Text British Council Questions (Eating at a Restaurant)
The Roast Dinner (The Sunday Roast) Toby Carvery
Paddington Bear Meets the Queen.
Research topics
Prepare a three to four-minute presentation in English about at least one famous person from Portsmouth.
Local authors
Nevil Shute (He designed the Horsa gliders that landed in Normandy in 1944 on D-Day)
Sir Francis Austen (brother of Jane Austen)
Life of Charles Dickens
Local Musicians
Mick Jones, founder of Foreigner
Local actors
People of note
John Pounds, founder of the ragged school
Hertha Ayrton, scientist and Suffragette
William Wyllie - Watercolour artist, Old Portsmouth Tower House
Infamous
We looked at the Traditional English Breakfast. However, as I said, for most British people, breakfast is just a bowl of cereal or some Toast.
A comedy song from the 1970s about Toast...
Lyrics to the song are here... Lots of vocabulary to talk about bread and breakfast! The use of 'me' instead of 'my' is everyday among spoken English in certain parts of the UK, including London.
He mentions an 'eggy soldier'. Can you recall what I said about a soldier in the context of breakfast?
Monday, July 7th
Instead of being in a classroom today, we will conduct our learning outside.
You should make notes (or audio recordings) and take lots of photos so you can create presentations on certain aspects of your choice from what you see this morning.
You will work on translating parts of the guide on Wednesday, along with embarking upon a further task for your final lessons here.
Walking Tour and outdoor lesson - The Millennium Walk (partial)
Friday, July 4th
Spoken Presentations (Written before?)
Aspects of British History I enjoyed the most.
Thursday, July 3rd
Regional - Stonehenge & Salisbury
Stonehenge - a World Heritage Site
This has a Computer Generated Voice with a US Accent.
Song for today
Wednesday, July 2nd
Southampton and The Titanic Disaster
April 1912 was a major historical tragedy that marked the UK, Ireland, France, the USA, and Canada. - The sinking of the Titanic
Reading Activities in Files
Theme song from the film 'Titanic'
Céline is French Canadian, but the song is in English and made for the film dedicated to this historic tragedy featuring many people who were from Portsmouth and Southampton - the workers on board, most of whom perished in the icy Atlantic Ocean.
Tuesday, July 1st
History (linking to Portsmouth - most likely carried over from Monday, June 30th).
e.g. King Henry VIII - (Southsea Castle) and his six wives...
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (We will focus on authors more next week)
Rudyard Kipling
Charles Dickens (John Pounds)
Pronunciation and Grammar
-ough is undoubtedly tough, so much so that it makes you cough while mixing your thoughts, making it rather rough.
Copied from the above-linked website:
How many can you say correctly?
"The wind was rough along the lough as the ploughman fought through snow that was up to his horse’s houghs, and though he hiccoughed and coughed, he thought only of his work, determined to be thorough."
UK Quiz UK Files Facts about England
We can examine the connections that Portsmouth has with the rest of the world.
Twin Cities
What do you know about...
Duisburg, Germany
What about...
Caen, France?
Sister Cities
Haifa, Israel
Portsmouth, Virginia, USA
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA
Portsmouth, Rhode Island, USA,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sydney, The Falkland Islands
Zhuhai, China
Zhangjiang, China
Maizuru, Japan
Sydney, Australia
Lakewood, Colorado, USA
Sylhet, Bangladesh
Valetta, Malta
Song for the day - What's the weather doing? (A British Obsession).
Culture - The British Obsession with the Weather.
What sort of weather do we have today?
What was the weather like yesterday?
What is the forecast for tomorrow and the weekend?
"Lovely weather we are having today, aren't we?"
"We're having terrible weather today, aren't we?"
"Isn't the weather awful today?"
"Isn't the weather terrible today?"
All of those will require some sort of response. If you get a shrug or an uninterested response, your conversation will not proceed, but it will most often proceed.
Monday, June 30th
City of Portsmouth Orientation - Course Introduction
Keeping a Journal
(What did you learn today, what did you see, what did you do? - What was new? What did you find very unusual or different? Why?)
Do you have a notebook? (or something similar on your devices where you can keep notes?)
This will help with your spoken presentations and written reports...
What is there to see and do in Portsmouth?
Portsmouth Intro Presentation. Further videos and information can be found here
The Hotwalls Studios and the City Ramparts
Main (paid) attractions
The Historic Dockyard - There are 11+ attractions on this site. However, there are three main ships.
HMS Warrior from 1860 (Queen Victoria's Navy)
Launched in 1860 as the world's first iron-hulled warship, HMS Warrior was once the pride of Queen Victoria's fleet. Now permanently docked in Portsmouth Harbour, she stands as a stunning testament to Victorian engineering and maritime heritage.
HMS Victory from 1765 (King George III)
HMS Victory was launched on May 7, 1765, and has been a commissioned Royal Navy warship ever since, according to the National Museum of the Royal Navy. She is the oldest commissioned warship in the world and is currently the flagship of the First Sea Lord.
Significance:
HMS Victory was launched at Chatham Dockyard.
The ship was commissioned for active service in March 1778.
She participated in several significant battles, including the Battle of Trafalgar.
HMS Victory has been a tourist attraction since 1823.
The ship is currently docked at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
The Mary Rose, From 1511 to 1545
Did you think that the Mary Rose sank on her maiden voyage? Think again… The Mary Rose was built in 1510-11 at the start of Henry VIII's reign and was one of his favourite ships for 34 years, until it sank in 1545, off the coast of Southsea Castle, after a major refit and relaunch.
Here is some background information on Mary Rose, available in both English and Italian.
D-Day (Cultural and Political History) D-Day Story - Overlord Embroidery
Constructed at the behest of King Henry VIII to protect the Solent from a possible invasion by the French and the Holy Roman Empire. This happened in July 1545. The Battle of the Solent saw the sinking of the Mary Rose.
The world's only year-round public transport hovercraft service.
The Resort of Southsea
Eastney Beach West
South Parade
Castle Fields
Avenue De Caen
Thursday 6th July 2017
Portsmouth Museum looks like this... The Hard Bus Station is probably the easiest one to get to. Otherwise, buses 700, 23 and 3 run to Cambridge Road and Museum Road.
Culture Club - The War Song
A good way to improve your English pronunciation and understanding is to practise using song lyrics...
A classic piece of music titled "Portsmouth"
Instrumental - initially published in 1701. This version was number 3 in the UK charts in 1976.
From the seafront, you can see the Isle of Wight...
This Italian song is all about the Isle of Wight Festival (from 1968,69,70).
It still happens every year in June.
************************************************
EXTRA:
What do you know about English Literature?
Which Authors have you heard of? Who did I go to school with?
She lived in this house in Tutshill, Chepstow.
Further Work on Authors
Royalty The Death of Queen Elizabeth II
The Coronation of King Charles III (Files)
Final Words
Now that your course is complete, you can still access this page for a time. It will only be removed should the need for space on the server arise.
For more on my work, you can access my business and voluntary websites here:
コメント