Whitney Houston - Why do stars fall?

You are going to 

• discuss fame and celebrity
• listen to a radio interview and do a gap-fill

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time. Her awards include two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards in her lifetime. Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney_Houston




News 11th February 2012
American singer and actress Whitney Houston has died in Los Angeles at the age of 48.
The mother of one died in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where she had been staying as a guest.
The singer had battled substance abuse in recent years.

Discuss
They have talent, money, looks, fame... everything.

• Why do some stars lose it all? 
• Can you think of any other stars who have come to a tragic end?
• What goes wrong?

Listen
Listen to this interview with music journalist and presenter Paul Gambaccini on the Stephen Nolan Show

• What does Paul think was special about Whitney Houston?
• What does he think went wrong in Whitney's life?

Listen and find out

listen to ‘Music journalist Paul Gambaccini looks back on the life and career of Whitney Houston, who died at the weekend aged 48’ on Audioboo

Listen again and read the summary of the interview below. 
Fill in the gaps with words from the list.
Vocabulary

• Feet on the ground = a realistic understanding of your own ideas, actions, and decisions
• Going south = failing

Discuss
What do you think?

• Are some stars so powerful that no one ever says no to them?
• Would it be better if celebrities kept their problems private?
• Should the media be more responsible when it reports on celebrities?
• Why are we so interested in celebrities' private lives?

Willpower - How can you improve it?

You are going to 

• discuss willpower
• listen to a radio programme about willpower and do a gap-fill exercise.
• do a quiz to find out how much willpower you have

Discuss

• Do you have willpower?
• What is willpower?
• When do you need it?
• When you decide to do something do you always finish it?
• Oscar Wilde said "I can resist everything but temptation". Can you resist everything?
• How can you improve your willpower?

Listening

1. Read the summary below of the BBC Radio 4 interview with Roy Baumeister about willpower. Can you guess any of the words which go in the gaps?
2. Listen to the recording below and fill in the gaps with the word you hear.

Be careful of your spelling!


According to a new book, the most important thing to make a person successful is willpower and not self-esteem as is sometimes thought.

Professor Roy Baumeister, author of Willpower: Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength, talks to the Today programme

 Click play to listen. Fill in the gaps.

More
Listen to a debate on this subject BBC's The Forum here  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00mxby8

Printable version here

Reading

How much willpower do you have?
Find out in this quiz  http://www.youthink.com/quiz.cfm?obj_id=80878

Why willpower matters – and how to get it
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/07/why-willpower-matters

8 Secrets of Success

You are going to

1. watch a clip and discuss what makes people successful 
2. match and discuss some quotes about success 
3. think of and agree on a motto or slogan for your class
4. do a quiz to find out if you could be a success
5. write about what makes a successful teacher / manager / student

1) Discuss. 

• What makes someone succesful?
• What do you think are the secrets of success?

2) Watch the clip.  
You are going to watch Richard St John. 
What are his eight secrets of success?




Answer (in black. Highlight here) =  Passion, Work, Focus, Push, Serve, Good, Have ideas, Persist. 



3) Match the quote to the person

Can you remember who said what? Match the quotes to the names on the left.

Watch the video again to check.

You can watch the clip and read a transcript here
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/richard_st_john_s_8_secrets_of_success.html

4) Discuss

• What do you think of the opinions in the quotes?
• Which do you agree with / disagree with?
• Do you think they are true? Why? Why not?
• What are the secrets of being a) a good student? ) b) a good teacher? c) a good leader / manager?

Read more famous quotes about success http://www.famouslifemottos.org/Success.html



5) Discussion / group work 
Slogans / Mottos. 
Make a slogan for your class or for yourself

Here are some slogans and mottos

·   The pen is in your hand, the rest is still unwritten

·   You only go around once in  this life, so you have to grab for all the gusto you can get.  - Schiltz Beer

·   Be all that you can be. – US Army

·   Just Do It. – Nike

·   Taking Care of Business.

More here  http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Advertising_slogans 

Activity - Work together. Can you think of a slogan or motto for your class? Think of some ideas and choose the best one for your class. Print it or turn it into a poster and put in on the wall!



6) Reading

Try these quizzes to find out if you will be successful 

http://www.quibblo.com/quiz/1AXiEX2/Will-you-be-successful

http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Not-Take-The-Success-Quiz-Now?&id=280729

7) Writing 

Choose 1
What do you think are the secrets of being 
a) a good student?
b) a good teacher? 
c) a good leader / manager? 
Give reasons to support your ideas.


And so finally...