EnglishClub

Pre-listening vocabulary

• feminism: the movement for women’s rights
• essay: a short piece of writing about a certain topic
• absence: the lack of something
• independence: the ability to control your own life
• disadvantage: something that makes success difficult

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07 — 1.0MB)

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Gapfill exercise

A Room of One’s Own is a feminist essay written by English Virginia Woolf. The essay’s main is that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. Woolf came to this conclusion after noticing the absence of female writers in . She believed that many more women could have written books if they’d had and independence. Woolf first presented A Room of One’s Own at a women’s university in 1928, and it as a book one year later. This was a time when women still faced many disadvantages in life. Woolf’s essay was one of the first well-known feminist works, and it is still famous today.

Comprehension questions

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Discussion/essay questions

1. Why did Woolf believe that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”?
2. Do you think that feminist works from the 1920s are still relevant? Why or why not?

Transcript

A Room of One’s Own is a feminist essay written by English author Virginia Woolf. The essay’s main argument is that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. Woolf came to this conclusion after noticing the absence of female writers in history. She believed that many more women could have written books if they’d had money and independence. Woolf first presented A Room of One’s Own at a women’s university in 1928, and published it as a book one year later. This was a time when women still faced many disadvantages in life. Woolf’s essay was one of the first well-known feminist works, and it is still famous today.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• publish: to release and sell a book to the public
• volume: a book that is part of a series
• accomplish: to achieve; to complete
• expectations: beliefs about what certain people should and should not do
• oppose: to be against a certain idea
• independent: not controlled or told what to do, free to make one’s own decisions
• adaptation: a film or book that is based on another original work

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17 — 1.2MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | More

Gapfill exercise

Little Women is a classic by author Louisa May Alcott. It was originally published in two volumes – the first in 1868, and the second in 1869. The story the lives of four sisters growing up in a poor house during the time of the American Civil War. The main is Jo, the second-oldest sister. She wants to become a writer, which is difficult for her to accomplish because of the expectations for women at the time. She spends most of the story opposed to the idea of love, as she wants to be independent and put her own first. The character of Jo is based on Louisa May Alcott herself. This book is still loved by many today, and a recent movie adaptation won several for the script, acting, costumes, and music.

Comprehension questions

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Discussion/essay questions

1. Books like Little Women are considered “classics” because they were published a long time ago, but the themes are still interesting and relevant today. Have you read any books that are considered “classics”? What did you think of them?

Transcript

Little Women is a classic novel by author Louisa May Alcott. It was originally published in two volumes – the first in 1868, and the second in 1869. The story follows the lives of four sisters growing up in a poor house during the time of the American Civil War. The main character is Jo, the second-oldest sister. She wants to become a writer, which is difficult for her to accomplish because of the expectations for women at the time. She spends most of the story opposed to the idea of love, as she wants to be independent and put her own career first. The character of Jo is based on Louisa May Alcott herself. This book is still loved by many today, and a recent movie adaptation won several awards for the script, acting, costumes, and music.