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Rubrica di Kara Bird

Learn English with Short Movies: We've All Been There

Aug 10, 2021

We've All Been There is a short Australian film which won the short film contest Tropfest in 2013. It tells the story of three people whose lives connect in more ways than one...

Though this is a short movie, it is challenging because of the natural speed at which the actors speak, and the casual language the characters use. Some useful expressions to know before watching are:
  • "I need more hours": I would like to work more shifts  
  • "I could take day shift because the tips are heaps better": 'heaps' is commonly used in Australian English to mean the same as "very", "much" or "many" e.g. This movie is heaps good! I have heaps of friends. Thanks heaps!
  • "It's really coming down": It's raining very heavily
  • "I'm quite the catch": I'm a great partner; it would be good to be in a relationship with me
Did you enjoy the film?
What were your first impressions of the characters?
Which character's situation did you relate to the most?
Did you expect the ending?
Have you ever experienced a similar situation? 
What would you have done in this situation?

This movie teaches us the importance of being kind, even to strangers. A useful idiom to describe this situation is What goes around, comes around: if we do good deeds, good things will happen to us. But if we do bad deeds, bad things will happen to us.

Another common expression is Pay it forward. The idea of "paying it forward" is, if someone does something kind for you, you should do something kind for another person. That way, our good deeds can continue forever!

If you enjoyed We've All Been There, I would love to talk to you about it or other movies in my lesson Learn English using Short Movies. In this 40 minute lesson we discuss new vocabulary and have interesting conversations about story, characters, themes and more! Each lesson we watch a film from a different genre (animation, action, documentary, drama...) to help you improve your vocabulary and speaking skills. You can find details about the lesson + a coupon for new students here:

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Coupon Name: 10% off English with Short Movies Lesson
(New Students Only)
Code: 0a2e29f2
Discount Rate: 10%
For Lesson: Learn English with Short Movies!
Effective for lessons conducted between: Aug 10, 2021 ~ Aug 18, 2021
URL: http://cafetalk.com/coupons/detail/?id=2981791&lang=en
(GMT+10:00 Sydney)
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