Tag: Art

Level: L7/L8

Topic: Banksy

‣ Session 1：Vocabulary Preview

considered
apprehend
graffiti
menace
subversive
stunning
impressed
mischief
somewhat
controversial

‣ Session 2: Conversation
(Opening)
Hi there, welcome to today’s lesson. Have you heard of a street artist called Banksy? Nobody knows who he is, but
he’s someone that generates strong opinions. Theo is having a conversation with Rose about Banksy. Theo really
likes Banksy, but Rose doesn’t agree. Let’s listen

Rose: Hey, Theo. How’s it going?

Theo: Not bad, thanks. Did you see the new Banksy piece?
Rose: Oh no, He’s always up to mischief. What’s he done now?
Theo: He tagged a wall near were I live. It’s really cool!
Rose: Wow, really? I can’t believe he hasn’t been apprehended by the police yet
Theo: Yeah, I know. I think It’s because he works quickly and does everything at the night, so it’s difficult to catch
him
Rose: What I don’t get is why people like him. I don’t like his style and his graffiti takes a long time to be cleaned
up. I think he’s a menace
Theo. Yeah, he’s somewhat controversial, but I think Banksy’s art is off the chain. It looks stunning and I really love
his subversive style
Rose: Hmmmmm… I’m still not convinced. I’m just not impressed and also I’m not sure how it can be considered
“art” .
Theo: Okay, no problem. Let’s agree to disagree
Rose: Good idea

‣ Session 3: Teaching session

(opening) Welcome back! Wow! Rose and Theo had a really interesting discussion about Banksy. They still
disagree but don’t worry, they are still friends. Let’s have a look at their discussion in more detail

1.1 tag
No, Rose and Theo are not playing a game of tag. Here Theo is describing what Banksy did to a wall near his house.
“tag” means to damage someone’s property by illegally writing or painting something on it. Here’s another example:
“The kids got in trouble for tagging the wall of their school”. But watch out, it’s quite an informal word, so If you
want to be more formal you could instead say “The kids got in trouble for writing graffiti on the wall of their
school”

1.2 menace
Next, let’s look at “menace”. In the conversation, Rose describes Banksy as a “menace”. That means she really
doesn’t like him or his art! “Menace” means someone who causes trouble or annoyance. It’s quite a negative word,
so don’t use it to describe your neighbor. Another example sentence would be “the child is always shouting in class.
His teacher thinks he is a menace”
1.3 off the chain
Theo describes Banksy’s art as “off the chain”. This means that he really likes it! Now, you might be thinking, “off
the chain? Like the chain on my bike?”, but no, it has nothing to do with an actual chain. This phrase means
extremely good, so you can also say “that movie was off the chain!” Or “I have an English teacher who is off the
chain”, but be careful. This is an informal phrase, so don’t tell your boss his presentation was off the chain.

1.4 subversive
Theo enjoys Banksy’s art because it is subversive. “Subversive” means
to weaken or destroy an established political system, organization, or authority, so somebody like Banksy who often
criticizes authority through his art could be described as a “subversive artist”. So Theo really likes art that is unique
and isn’t just a painting of some fruit or a beautiful landscape. Here’s another example: “The government blamed
a subversive organization for the riots.” Subversive people can really cause a lot of problems, so don’t be a
subversive employee.

1.5. agree to disagree

At the end of the conversation, Theo says to Rose. “Let’s agree to disagree” This a very useful phrase if you are
having a disagreement with someone, and you want to end the argument or move on to something else, but you still
want to be respectful. It means to agree not to argue anymore about a difference of opinion. Here’s another example:
“He likes golf and his wife likes tennis, so when it comes to sports, they have agreed to disagree.” So next time you
are having an argument with someone, remember this phrase can be used to stop an argument becoming too heated,
so you can still be friends

(Ending)Alright, that is all for today, remember practice makes perfect, don’t forget to finish the following practice!

‣ Session 4: After-session Practice

1. Listen the following conversation between Rose and Theo and choose the correct answer.
Script:
Theo: Hey Rose, what do you think about the show yesterday?
Amy: It was off the chain!
Question:
What does Rose think about the show?
A: She thinks it is extremely good B: She hated it C: She thinks it was Okay.
2. Listen to the following conversation between Rose and Theo and choose the correct answer.
Script:
Theo: I really don’t like K-Pop. I think it sounds terrible
Rose: What? You’re crazy! I’m a big fan of K-pop
Theo: Okay, that’s fine. Let’s agree to disagree
Does Theo:
A: Want to continue arguing
B: now agree that K-Pop is good music
C: Want to move on to a different topic
3. Multiple-choice question
Rose: That child is a menace
What does Rose mean?
A. The child is so cute. B: The child causes trouble. C. The child is very fat
4. Multiple-choice question
Rose: I can’t believe someone tagged the school wall
Theo: Yeah it must have been those kids again
What does Rose mean?
A: Someone painted the school wall
B: Someone cleaned the school wall
C: Someone wrote graffiti on the school wall
Session 5:跟读训练/Choose Your Role and Read Out the Conversation.
Rose: Hey, Theo. How’s it going?
Theo: Not bad, thanks. Did you see the new Banksy piece?
Rose: Oh no, He’s always up to mischief. What’s he done now?
Theo: He tagged a wall near were I live. It’s really cool!
Rose: Wow, really? I can’t believe he hasn’t been apprehended by the police yet
Theo: Yeah, I know. I think It’s because he works quickly and does everything at the night, so it’s difficult to catch
him
Rose: What I don’t get is why people like him. I don’t like his style and his graffiti takes a long time to be cleaned
up. I think he’s a menace
Theo. Yeah, he’s somewhat controversial, but I think Banksy’s art is off the chain. It looks stunning and I really love
his subversive style
Rose: Hmmmmm… I’m still not convinced. I’m just not impressed and also I’m not sure how it can be considered
“art” .
Theo: Okay, no problem. Let’s agree to disagree
Rose: Good idea

Session 6 文化拓展/extension
Subversive art is quite a controversial art style. It is very similar to modern art but it is intended to be shocking.
Banksy is an example of a subversive artist but there are many others around the world. Their goal is to get people
talking and thinking about authority and the way we organize society. Some people love this style but others think it
just causes problems. What do you think?