INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH LESSON

THE UKULELE

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• Do you recognise the musical

instrument in the picture? What

is it called?

• Which country or environment do

you associate with this

instrument?

• What sort of sound does it

create?

DISCUSSION

QUESTIONS #1

Discuss these

questions with a

partner.

Source: A TED Ed clip, ‘Mysteries of vernacular: Ukelele’; A YouTube clip by Fender, ‘Billie Eilish

Signature Ukelele’

Focus: Listening

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READING Complete this short text, ‘What is a ukelele?’, by filling each space with one word from the box.

INSTRUMENTS

FOUR-STRINGED

RESEMBLES

LOCATED

TROPICAL

KNOWN

DEVELOPED

VERSION

What is a Ukulele?

It produces a characteristic sound that immediately takes us

to 1)__________ environments. The ukulele was born in Hawaii

but has its roots in Western Europe.

The ukulele is a 2)__________ musical instrument made from wood

that 3)________ a small classical guitar.

English speakers pronounce it as "you-ka-ley-ley" but, in fact, the

spelling of the word is an anglicised 4)________ of the original

Hawaiian pronunciation “ju-ke-lei-li."

The father and mother of the ukulele are two musical 5)________

from Portugal - the cavaquinho and the machete, also 6)________

as braguinha. They were 7)________ in Braga, a city 8)________ in the

north of the country.

Source: https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/what-is-a-ukuleleImage: Unsplash - David Wayne

A. Oddly enough /ˈɒd.liː.jəˈnʌf/

B. Literally /ˈlɪ.trə.liː/

C. To translate /trænzˈleɪt/

D. To originate /əˈrɪ.dʒə.neɪt/

E. To reign /reɪn/

F. To nickname /ˈnɪk.neɪm/

G. Merry /ˈme.riː/

H. The king’s court /ˈkiŋzˈkɔːt/

I. Demand /dəˈmænd

J. To manufacture

/ˈma.njəˈfæk.tʃə/

K. Minuscule /ˈmɪ.nə.skjuːl/

L. Modification

/ˈmɒ.də.fəˈkeɪ.ʃən/

VOCABULARY #1 Match the following words and phrases to their definitions:

I. Happy and cheerful

II. Very small or tiny

III. To be in power as a monarch (king or queen

IV. When many people want something

V. Exactly and truly what is said - we use this to emphasise the truth or a

word or statement

VI. To give something a different name, often in a funny or affectionate way

VII.The household and social group of a king

VIII.A change made to something in order to improve it

IX. To make in order to sell

X. To change from one language to another

XI. Strangely - we use this expression before or after something we think is

unusual

XII.To start or begin

VOCABULARY #2 Complete the sentences using the words and phrases from the list. You might need to change

the form of the word to suit the sentence.

1. Flamenco dance ___________ in southern Spain.

2. There is a lot of ___________ for affordable

housing, but not enough supply.

3. I sometimes ___________ English words into my

own language in order to understand them,

though I know this isn’t the most effective way

to learn.

4. Queen Victoria ___________ in England from 1876

till 1901.

5. With some ___________ to the vehicle, it is

possible for people in a wheelchair to drive a

car.

6. A lot of our clothing is ___________ in South Asia,

where the conditions are typically bad and the

workers are often underpaid.

7. There were ___________ hundreds of people at

the meeting. It was very crowded.

8. If you watch ‘Game of Thrones’, you can see

many examples of ___________ - the people

whom the monarch keeps close.

9. A flea is a ___________ insect that causes a lot of

discomfort for animals.

10. Her boyfriend’s name is Tim, but his ___________

is ‘Ginger’. ___________, her father is also called

Tim.

11. Santa Claus is described as a very ___________

character, always laughing and spreading joy.

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LISTENING #1 Now watch the clip. Were

your predictions correct?

With your partner/group,

explain what happened,

using the pictures as a

reference.

PREDICTION Look at the eight pictures. All of these people and things are involved in the origin story of the

Ukelele. How do you think they are connected? What predictions can you make?

LISTENING #2 Listen again and complete

the notes. 

Mysteries of Vernacular: Ukelele

• Ukelele - Native 1)__________ word

• Literal translation - 2)__________

• 1800s - King Kalakaua - last 3)__________

• 4)__________ - ‘The Merry Monarch’ - Joy for life, love

of 5)__________

• Edward Purvis - former 6)__________ officer 

• Small but 7)__________ man - Nickname -

8)__________ (Hawaiian - ‘Ukelele’)

• King and Edward Purvis - both 9)__________.

• 1879 - 10)__________ arrived in Hawaii. - Brought 11)__________ -

‘Braguinha’

• Purvis helped 12)__________ around King’s Court

• Soon - 13)__________ nicknamed ‘Ukelele’

• Demand grew - Portuguese families 14)__________ instrument in

Hawaii

• Made 15)__________ - instrument became the modern Ukelele.

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VOCABULARY #3 Complete these sentences from the text with prepositions from the box.

ON

FROM

AS

OF x 5

WITH

BEFORE

IN x 3

TO x 2

• The word ‘Ukelele’, 1)________ its native Hawaiian, literally translates 2)________ ‘Jumping Flea’.

• The instrument itself did not originate 3)________ Hawaii

• King Kalakaua was the last reigning king 4)________ the Kingdom 5)________ Hawaii

• He was nicknamed ‘The Merry Monarch’ because 6)________ his joy for life, and 7)________ particular, his love of

music.

• Like the king, he was a great lover 8)________ music.

• In 1879, a group 9)________ Portuguese immigrants arrived 10)________ the Islands of Hawaii, bringing

11)________ them a small four-stringed guitar known 12)________ a braguinha.

• It was not long 13)________ his nickname, ‘Ukelele’, jumped 14)________ the man 15)________ his favourite

instrument.

LISTENING #3 Listen again and check.

DISCUSSION

QUESTIONS #2• Is there a musical instrument that is associated with your country or culture?

• The ukelele is something that evolved as a result of cultures mixing. Can you think of

something else that changed when it moved from one place to another?

LISTENING #4 Now watch the video  ‘Billie Eilish Signature Ukelele’ and answer these questions.

1. How old was Billie when she learned to play the ukelele?

2. What does she like about the ukelele?

3. What does it inspire?

4. How many chords do you need to know on the ukelele?

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Watch these Ukelele tracks on YouTube. Which is your favourite? Why?

• The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain - ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’

• Jake Shimabukuro - ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ 

• Jack Johnson - ‘Breakdown’

EXTRA TASK

ANSWERS

A. XI

B. V

C. X

D. XII

E. III

F. VI

G. I

H. VII

I. IV

J. IX

K. II

L. VIII

1. Six

2. It’s simple.

3. A different kind of writing

4. Three

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LISTENING #2

1. Hawaiian

2. ‘Jumping flea’

3. Reigning king

4. Nickname / nicknamed

5. Music

6. British army

7. Lively

8. ‘Jumping flea’

9. Loved music

10. Portuguese immigrants

11. Four-stringed guitar

12. Spread (its) popularity

13. Instrument

14. Manufactured / started to manufacture

15. (small) modifications

READING

1. TROPICAL

2. FOUR-STRINGED

3. RESEMBLES

4. VERSION

5. INSTRUMENTS

6. KNOWN

7. DEVELOPED

8. LOCATED

VOCABULARY #1

VOCABULARY #2

1. ORIGINATED

2. DEMAND

3. TRANSLATE

4. REIGNED

5. MODIFICATIONS

6. MANUFACTURED

7. LITERALLY

8. KINGS’ COURTS

9. MINISCULE

10. NICKNAME; ODDLY

ENOUGH

11. MERRY

LISTENING #4