Lesson
To improve your English ability requires you to read, write, and think in English. Therefore, I am starting a new lesson to help you accomplish this. These lessons will allow you to research a topic and submit your report to this forum.
The first topic is on: The Edmund Fitzgerald
Please include in your report the following items: who, what, when, where and how
Participating in this exercise will reward you with the following:
- Help develop your research abilities in English.
- Promote your understanding and improve your comprehension.
- Improve your reading and writing abilities.
- Develop your thinking in English.
- Provide positive reinforcement and self-satisfaction of accomplishment.
This will be a good investment of your time to achieve fluency in English!
Comments
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United States |
Here’s a method to listen to the lyrics while you read them: 1. Open a new window to be able to read the lyrics 2. Click on the original profile page window and click on the song to start the song playing 3. Return to the window with the lyrics and read the lyrics while the song is playing 4. While listening to the song, listen carefully to study how the singer pronounces each word that you read 5. Read the bolded line(s) under the lyrics to understand and repeat listening until you can understand the song without reading the lyrics. |
United States |
Here is the translated version of the song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Hopefully this exercise will give you an opportunity to learn English from another angle. Please notice the use of “personification” in the lyrics which is referring to the lake and ship as “her.” The Edmund Fitzgerald Lyrics Translated The bolded text is the translated portion of the lyrics. Start of lyrics The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty. That good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early. The ship was the pride of the American side Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin The ship was returning from a mill (the source of the iron ore) in the state of Wisconsin in the United States As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most When compared to other large freighter ships, the Edmund Fitzgerald was larger than most of them With a crew and good captain well-seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland Afterwards, the ship left those 2 companies and started to make the journey to the city of Cleveland, located in the state of Ohio (there are 50 states that are a part of the United States)
The wind blowing through various cables made a sound like it was the dreaded north wind. Tattle-tale is a phrase used to describe children who run to tell their parent everything their brother or sister did to get them into trouble. And a wave broke over the railing
T’was the witch of November come stealin’. The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait When the Gales of November came slashin’. When afternoon came it was freezin’ rain In the face of a hurricane west wind. When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin’ At dinner time, the person who did the cooking made an announcement to everyone on the boat. The phrase “old cook” was referring affectionately to the person who did the cooking, not that he was old Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya. At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said Fellas, it’s been good t’know ya The captain wired in he had water comin’ in And the good ship and crew was in peril. And later that night when his lights went outta sight Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. When the waves turn the minutes to hours? The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay If they’d put fifteen more miles behind her.
They may have broke deep and took water. And all that remains is the faces and the names Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Superior can be furious unexpectedly as compared to a young man’s dreams which can change unexpectedly
And farther below Lake Ontario
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
When the gales of November come early!
(Click the link for a larger map picture)
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume behind Baikal in Russia.[1][2] The total surface is 208,610 km2 (80,545 sq mi), and the total volume is 22,560 km3 (5,412 cu mi). The Great Lakes hold 21% of the world’s surface fresh water.[ The Great Lakes I plan to post the next mini lesson “Understanding American English Phrases” in the “Inside the language” lesson soon on my profile page. Hope to see you there!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes http://www.great-lakes.net/lakes/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_River |
United States |
Gucci, thanks for your feedback. I was preparing to post the translation today. However, because of your comments, I intend to take another day and add more details to the translation, to fully explain certain words. For those who are following this exercise, please understand the topic and write down the portions of the song that you don’t understand. Once I have posted the translation, determine if you still have questions, then ask. Here is the basic information concerning The Edmund Fitzgerald: Who: The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald What: American Great Lakes freighter (ship) carrying taconite (iron ore) sunk. When: November 10, 1975 Where: Lake Superior Canadian waters How: Hurricane-like force winds and water waves of 11 meters |
China |
I must say it is a great method to improve our abilities in English. But I can’t finish it this time, because there are too many technical terms that I don’t understand. When I read the wiki page about the Edmund Fitzgerald, I thought she was a windsurfer or the like. I didn’t even realize she was actually a ship until I looked up a dictionary ;-D Well, though I didn’t get the reward listed, I gained some knowledge about American culture. I think exploring its culture is also an important part in our English learning. Thanks, dear teacher! |
United States |
The Edmund Fitzgerald song lyrics analysis project. This exercise will be a big project but I will go through the lyrics line by line so you will understand. Go to this link to learn about The Edmund Fitzgerald: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald I have posted the song by Gordon Lightfoot of the “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” in the Relaxation Lounge on my profile page, listen to it and then follow along while reading the lyrics. For those of you who cannot see the songs in the Relaxation Lounge, try to find it on the Internet, if not, don’t worry, just read the lyrics: Start of lyrics The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down End of lyrics I understand this is advance material, however, I believe everyone will receive some information that will be helpful, in addition to history. I intend to start explaning the lyrics in about a week so you will have time to research and comprehend the material. I wish you success in this endeavor.
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United States |
Thanks Peacelover for sharing your report, I’m sure it will be helpful for others to read. I want to continue and analyze the song that Gordon Lightfoot wrote on the Edmund Fitzgerald for the advanced students and to break it down for the beginning and intermediate students. I want to take something that may seem complicated and make it understandable for everyone. Bruce_zhou, I will consider your spendid idea of chatting concernng a specific topic, thanks for submitting it. Joy4short, thanks for your feedback, looking forward to your report!
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Japan |
Such a wonderful idea Sir. Got to start my job right now and I’ll be back soon to accomplish this report.Thank you very much, such a big help for us who wants to improve our english. |
China |
Hi ENGLIHSTEACHER,for one thing ,thanks for your advise and really appreciate,actually,the 5 W method which you used in your article from project managment,it’s userful and valuable,as for me i m also eager to get improving in my english ,especial oral english,if only i can speak english will , i will work more easily and can communication with my forigner friends freely,i like clture of all of the world,whatever which country,i think totally in interesting,some guys told me need writing more and speaking more,that’s you can learing english well in short time,but also we chat with our friend also have some know-how,can not just talk about free topics,it’s so boring,should be chatting with your friend special topics,and discussing together,you will be improving so fast,i don’t know it’s right or not,someone can share your experience here and discuss here,i m really appreciate. |
India |
Thanks for giving some words about that. I hope it’ll encourage the people to advance their learning. I think that would be the real appreciation. and I’d like to thank you for showing the way to learn in a better environment. Great job. Keep it up teacher |
United States |
Thanks! |
Thailand |
You are very welcome, Englishteacher 24/7. I read some forums here and yours are very useful for many people who want to improve their English. Great job! |
United States |
Gigi, I appreciate your feedback and you have given good advice. I’ll incorporate it into my future exercises. Thanks! |
United States |
PeaceLover, you’ve satisfied the criteria for this report and did a superb job in doing so. Who: The Edmund Fitzgerald What: American Great Lakes freighter carrying taconite (ore) sunk. When: November 10, 1975 Where: Lake Superior Canadian waters How: Hurricane-like force winds and water waves of 11 meters In writing an English composition, this would be the framework of your report with details written in to provide content. Actually, it’s a collection of simple sentences connected with conjunctions. The goal of this exercise is to move you from the English knowledge in your head to your hand and communicating information to others. Do not wait until you can write perfect English, I don’t write perfect English! Once you have written something, you can improve from there. I would like to encourage the rest of you to write to promote your advancement in English. |
Thailand |
Your topic is quite a good suggestion to help learners improve their English, I do like it. Still, as a non-native English user who occasinonally teaches English, I think the topic is rather advance for many non-native English learners in some countries. In this case, the name could have been someone who is better known globally. |
India |
Edmund Fitzgerald Fitz or Mighty Fitz or Big Fitz was an American Great Lakes freighter. She was launched to waters on June 8, 1958 after a no of hurdles and after serving for 17 years sunk in Lake Superior with all 29 crew members. She embarked its last journey on Nov. 10, 1975 and met its bad luck in Canadian waters in depth of 530 ft. During its lifetime she made six haul records of carrying the ore. She used to voyage from mines of Duluth, Minnesota carrying taconite to iron works at Detroit, Toledo and other ports. She was the biggest boat in Lake Superior and remains biggest sunk there in history. She used to be a popular boat for spectators with her entertaining captain Dee Jay(Peter Pulcer) piping day and night on its intercom. He used to do live commentary while passing through Duluth or other ports. Later investigations revealed that she may have fallen prey to Hurricane-like force and water waves of 11 meter swamped into her deck and cargo hatch. It’s the biggest disaster in the history of Superior shipping. Later in turn that resulted in major changes in regulations and practices. She was the subject of 1976 hit song “The wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald. Thank you. Have good day . |
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