English teaching of a famous speech

1. Students The second-year English majored students Thestudents have mastered the basics of English and have an upper-intermediate level proficiency The students need to be prepared for a more advanced proficiency level of English (including: to have a firmer grasp of more complex grammar structures, to understand the implicit meaning in both text and speech, to sense how language is applied to reach the communicative purposes, and to appreciate how rhetorical devices are used to convey the meaning

2. Learning Objectives • Learn and practice readingabout Churchill’s speech and the Second World War; • Discuss the historical and realistic significance of Churchill’s speech; • Learn the genre of speech and the writing conventions and skills of public speaking • Appreciate how language is used to appeal the audiences in a speech and learn the rhetorical strategies

3. Teaching Procedures (10 classes) • Pre-reading activities and background information (1 class) • Global reading (2 classes) • Detailed reading (4 classes) • Language appreciation (2 classes) • Check after-class exercise (1 class)

4. Pre-reading activities Discuss the following questions in groups of four. 1. What do you know about World War II? When did it break out? And when did it end? 2. Can you name some important historic figures in WWII? 3. What do you know about Winston Churchill? Besides his talent as a statesman, what was he also famous for? 4. Have you ever read his speeches? Do you like his speeches? Would you feel excited and inspired while reading or listening to his speeches?

5. Background Information Give students background information about • World War II • Winston Churchill • Harrow School • Songs of Harrow

6. Winston Churchill (1874-1965) As a politician, Winston Churchill is remembered as one of Britain’s greatest statesmen. He was the son of the Conservative politician Lord Randolph Churchill and his American wife Jennie. As a young man he served as a soldier in India and Egypt, and as a journalist in South Africa, before entering politics. Churchill became Prime Minister and Minister of Defense in 1940. His radio speeches during World WarⅡ gave the British people a strong determination to win the war, especially at times of great crisis.

7. Harrow School Harrow School, commonly known simply as “Harrow”, is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was officially founded by John Lyon under a Royal Charter of Elizabeth I in 1572. The school has an enrollment of approximately 800 boys spread across twelve boarding houses, all of whom board full time. Harrow has many traditions and rich history, which includes the use of boaters, morning suits, top hats and canes as uniform. Its long line of famous alumni include eight former Prime Ministers (including Churchill, Baldwin, Peel, and Palmerston), numerous foreign statesmen, former and current members of both houses of the UK Parliament, two Kings and several other members of various royal families, 19 Victoria Cross holders, and a great many notable figures in both the arts and the sciences.

8. Songs of Harrow Songs have been an important part of Harrow life ever since John Farmer, a former head of music, wrote the first song in 1864. The school considers them to be a unifying force as they are sung by the boys in their houses every term. Songs are sung by the whole school to audiences of parents, former pupils of the school, and guests of honor that have, in the past, included members of the royal family and representatives from previous governments. The song Forty Years On has become known as the school song, although in reality it is one of many. It features a verse about Winston Churchill, and was heard in the film Young Winston (1972).

9. Global Reading • Give a brief introduction of the text • Ask the students about the general impression of the speech • Analyze the structure of the text

10. About the text This text is an inspiring speech made by Winston Churchill, Great Britain’s ex-Prime Minister and famous orator, when he visited Harrow School on October 29, 1941. In his speech he analyzed the world situation and how other countries looked at Britain and then called on the British people not to give in. He expressed his conviction that this nation was determined to fight for the victory of this great war.

11. The general impression of the speech (by asking 3 questions) 1. What did Churchill intend to do by making his speech? To encourage people to hold on in the stern situation. 2. What do you think is its most striking feature in the use of language? Repetition 3. What is the prevailing tone of the speech? Inspiring and encouraging

12. Structure Analysis of the Text • Part one (Para 1): Opening remarks – Churchill reviewed the great events and suggested that his audience might be wondering why more was not happening. • Part two (para 2-5): The body – Churchill outlined the lessons to be learned from these events and how they had proved other countries wrong about Britain. • Part Three (Para 6-8): Closing remarks- Churchill reiterated his inspirations by changing a word in a verse recently added to a traditional song.

13. Detailed reading • Part One:Comprehension Questions （propose questions for a better understanding of the text) • Part Two: Sentence highlights and words explanations (explain the difficult language points and paraphrase)

14. Part one: Comprehension Questions (Examples） Example 1 : What was Churchill’s intention of singing some of their songs? At the initial stage of the Second World War, Great Britain was fighting in isolation against the Nazi Fascists. Some British people doubted whether their nation could win the war with their own efforts. Churchill wanted to convey the conviction of the government to the British people through these songs and encourage them to persevere.

15. Example 2. What changes took place during the time between Churchill’s two visits? Britain was no longer alone in fighting the Germans and was better armed. Example3. Why did Churchill use ill-favored words such as “ups and downs” and “misfortunes” when talking about the menace of the enemy? Because he wanted to inspire patriotic spirit in the people, encourage them to face the difficult situation and fight bravely against the Nazis. ……

16. Example 4: How do you understand the words “impatient” and “this long lull” in the last sentence? The use of these two expressions indicates the speaker’s desire to stimulate the listeners into action against the Nazis on the one hand, and on the other hand, it reveals the speaker’s criticism of the inactiveness and impotence in the face of the seemingly powerful enemy.

17. Part 2: Sentencehighlights (Example) 1. The ten months that have passed have seen very terrible catastrophic events in the world — ups and downs, misfortunes — but can anyone sitting here this afternoon, this October afternoon, not feel deeply thankful for what has happened in the time that has passed and for the very great improvement in the position of our country and of our home? (Para. 1)

18. Explaining language points: for example, ups and downs ---- a mixture of good things and bad things The organization has experienced its ups and downs since it was founded in 1999 Life is full of ups and downs.

19. see (v.): personification (为某事发生之时，为(某事)的现场或背景) 是一种拟人化的表现手法。该词前面可以加表示时间或地点的名词短语，前者表示事件发生的时间，后者表示事件发生的地点。 • Shanghai has seen many significant events in Chinese history.

20. Sentence highlights Paraphrase: … the very great improvement in the position of our country and of our home? It refers to the better armament of the British forces and assistance from the United States. At the beginning of the Battle of Britain initiated by Germany on 10 July 1940, especially after the blitz of London, British military forces were poorly armed. Then they obtained military aids from the United States and improved their armament. In addition, Britain was no longer alone in the war. In 1941, the United States began to involve itself in the war. On 7 July 1941, American troops joined British troops in the occupation of Iceland. August 9－13, 1941, U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at Placentia Bay, off the coast of Newfoundland, and signed the Atlantic Charter, a document outlining the Allied war aims.

21. Language appreciation: Analysis of the rhetorical features (Explain: what rhetorical strategies are used, how are they used, and why are they used) • The typical rhetorical strategies used in the text (examples) • use of repetition • use of rhetorical question • use of antithesis • use of personification • use of climax • Use of metaphor

22. 1. use of repetition in order to cheer myself and cheer the hearts of a few of my friends by singing some of our own songs (para 1): • lays emphasis • The use of repetition lays emphasis on the very purpose of his visit to the school and paves way for the presentation of his intention this time. 2. use of rhetorical question but can anyone sitting here this afternoon, this October afternoon, not feel deeply thankful for what has happened in the time that has passed and for the very great improvement in the position of our country and of our home? (Para. 1): a question in form but not in function, for emphasis • What the speaker really wanted to say is “everyone sitting here must feel thankful for …” Repetitions of different kinds • Repetition of words • Repetition of different words of the same meaning • Repetition of the same sentence structure

23. 3. Use of antithesis But we must learn to be equally good at what is short and sharp and what is long and tough. (Para. 2): • The speaker deliberately used two phrases of contrasting meaning in a parallel structure • in order to show the determination of the British people to fight and win the war

24. 4. Use of personification … and as Kipling well says, we must “ ... meet with Triumph and Disaster. And treat those two impostors just the same.”(Para.3) • Imposter: someone who pretends to be someone else in order to trick people • Here the first letter of the two words “triumph” and “disaster” is capitalized. And they are further referred too as “impostors”, as if they were two human beings. • The use of personification creates a more vivid image in the mind of the audience and makes the complicated and abstract ideas easier to understand.

25. 5. Use of climax All this tradition of ours, our songs, our school history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated. (Para. 4) • Liquidate: (1) to close a business or company and sell the things that belong to it, in order to pay its debts; • (2) to kill someone or destroy something that is causing a problem。 • E.g. They have not hesitated in the past to liquidate their rivals. • 过去他们曾毫不犹豫地铲除对手。 • Here the use of the three words “gone” and “finished” and “liquidated” shows an ascending order of force and intensity, from weak to strong, intensifying step by step the cruel reality that if they did not take action and fight to win the war the whole nation would be doomed

26. 6. Use of metaphor • We stood all alone a year ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. (Para. 4) • Originally, it means to close a business and sell everything it owns, usually in order to pay money that is owed. • Here the author uses a metaphor of “opening/closing a bank account” to mean that Britain is regarded by many as doomed and completely defeated by the enemy.