Regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century, Adeline Virginia Woolf (25 January 1882 -- 28 March 1941) was a significant figure in London literary society and a member of the Bloomsbury Group during the interwar period. Her most famous works include the novels Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927) and Orlando (1928), and the book-length essay A Room of One's Own (1929), with its famous dictum, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." This is the only surviving recording of Virginia Woolf's voice. It is part of a BBC radio broadcast from April 29th, 1937. The talk was called "Craftsmanship" and was part of a series entitled "Words Fail Me".
This excellent documentary will give you a very clear idea of what life was like in her times as well as many interesting and unknown details about her.
Finally, at brainy quote, you'll be able to read her wisest quotes!
This website is incredibly useful when you want to know details about the different English tenses, with lots of grammar explanations and exercises. Highly recommended for intermediate and advanced students for revision and practice!
David Herbert Lawrence, novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist, was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England, on September 11, 1885. Though better known as a novelist (Sons and Lovers or Lady Chatterley's lover), Lawrence’s first-published works (in 1909) were poems, and his poetry, especially his evocations of the natural world, have since had a significant influence on many poets on both sides of the Atlantic. Click here to read some of his most famous quotes and listen to this beautiful poem where the poet pays homage to the piano and at the same time recalls with nostalgia, his childish days.
A good way of improving your English is by describing pictures or/and situations, you can use lots of interesting expressions, structures and have fun using your imagination too!.
Here is some helpful information from the web SlideShare including an example from the Cambridge First Certificate Examination, level B2.
Le Petit Prince (1943) is a novel by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, translated into English as The Little Prince. This is a quote taken from chapter XVII: "Le langage est source de malentendus", Language is the source of misunderstandings. Do you agree? I do!
As a student of English, I'm sure you have experienced misunderstandings, sometimes they are reaaaaally funny but they can cause serious problems too, so to avoid them watch this video and notice that there are a lot of strategies to minimize their impact and if you want practice them: in English or even in your own language!
This website, called About.com Education, provides useful information for students, teachers, and parents about different topics, such as Art and literature, Sciences or History. Therefore, it may be of help when you are interested in specific matters and you need an explanation, for instance, have you ever asked wondered how words are formed? In semantics this simple matter is about the concept called "lexicalization", what about the word "word"? if you click on the word you'll know the answer!.
Professor Noam Chomsky noted linguist, philosopher, and social critic explores the complexities of language and its study. This lecture was presented by Boston College and recorded on 7/20/11. The nature of human language is still not completely understood. How do infants learn language? How does it fit in with other cognitive processes? Fascinating!
Heroes became icons for the population both in Britain and Germany during the First World War. They raised people's confidence in the final triumph and represented the sublimation of the sacrifice their nation were making.
Two remarkable young figures died before they could celebrate their 30th birthdays: they were, on the one hand, the famous German pilot the Red Baron and, on the other, English poet Rupert Brooke.
Was the cost worth it? Here you have some food for thought:
In 2008 this controversial film was shot in Germany, watch it if you are interested:
And here's an inspired reading of the English poet's moving and patriotic poem The soldier,in which the poet serenely accepted his death.
Finally, you may listen to a lecture in which professor Andrew Barker analyses the poem.
Thanks to "Witness", a BBC News 24 programme of the stories of our times told by the people who were there, we can enjoy a direct account of the effects the war had on people, in this case on Robert Graves, who became particularly popular for his historical novels like I, Claudius.
In his case, I imagine the events were specially painful given his partly Anglo-Irish and partly German descent. He served in World War I until he was invalided out in 1917. In 1929 he publishedGood bye to allan account of his experiences in the war. Later, he chose Mallorca to spend the rest of his life, where he lived in the picturesque village of Deià.
A century after the start of World War One the sons of Robert Graves, one of Britain's best known war poets, remembers the profound effect the conflict had on his father on a BBC News programme. William Graves recalls his father's work and how the experience of fighting and getting wounded in the Great War remained with him for the rest of his life.
Here's more information about his poem "A dead Boche".
