Chill Out

Lead-in

  • What do you think about each of the following genres of music?
  • Who is a famous artist of each genre?

Presentation

  • What do you do when you want to calm down but you’re…
    • at work?
    • in the middle of the street?
    • in a friend’s house?
    • driving?
  • What do you like to listen to when you want to calm down?

Top Down

  • What would be a good title for the text? Read it and find out.
  1. A list of relaxing music genres
  2. Chill-out: A genre to listen to and relax
  1. The most heard relaxing song
  2. What to do when you need to relax
  1. A list of relaxing music genres
  2. Chill-out: A genre to listen to and relax
  1. The most heard relaxing song
  2. What to do when you need to relax

Chill-out (shortened as chill; also typeset as chillout or chill out) is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of “chill-out music” has evolved throughout the decades, and generally refers to anything that might be identified as a modern type of easy listening. Some of the genres associated with “chill” include downtempo, classical, dance, jazz, hip-hop, world, pop, lounge, and ambient. The term “chill-out music” – originally conflated with “ambient house” – came from an area called “The White Room” at the Heaven nightclub in London in 1989. There, DJs played ambient mixes from sources such as Brian Eno and Pink Floyd to allow dancers a place to “chill out” from the faster-paced music of the main dance floor. Ambient house became widely popular over the next decade before it declined due to market saturation. In the early 2000s, DJs in Ibiza’s Café Del Mar began creating ambient house mixes that drew on jazz, classical, Hispanic, and New Age sources. The popularity of chill-out subsequently expanded to dedicated satellite radio channels, outdoor festivals, and thousands of compilation albums. “Chill-out” was also removed from its ambient origins and became its own distinct genre. “Chillwave” was an ironic term coined in 2009 for music that could already be described with existing labels such as dream pop. Despite the facetious intent behind the term, chillwave was the subject of serious, analytical articles by mainstream newspapers, and became one of the first genres to acquire an identity online. As on-demand music streaming services grew in the 2010s, a form of downtempo tagged as “lo-fi hip hop” or “chillhop” became popular among many streaming apps.

Source

Bottom Up

  • True or False?

Example: Ambient house was very popular. True

  1. Chill-out is a precisely defined form of popular music.
  2. The definition of “chill-out music” usually refers to anything that isn’t identified as a modern type of easy listening.
  3. Some of the genres associated with “chill” include downtempo, classical, dance, jazz, hip-hop, world, pop, lounge, ambient, and even country music.
  4. In the early 1900s, DJs in Ibiza’s Café Del Mar began creating ambient house mixes that drew on jazz, classical, Hispanic, and New Age sources.
  5. The popularity of chill-out then expanded to dedicated satellite radio channels, outdoor festivals, and thousands of compilation albums. It also became its own distinct genre. 
  1. Chill-out is a precisely defined form of popular music. False
  2. The definition of “chill-out music” usually refers to anything that isn’t identified as a modern type of easy listening. False
  3. Some of the genres associated with “chill” include downtempo, classical, dance, jazz, hip-hop, world, pop, lounge, ambient, and even country music. False
  4. In the early 1900s, DJs in Ibiza’s Café Del Mar began creating ambient house mixes that drew on jazz, classical, Hispanic, and New Age sources. False
  5. The popularity of chill-out then expanded to dedicated satellite radio channels, outdoor festivals, and thousands of compilation albums. It also became its own distinct genre. True

Post

  • What genre mentioned in the text is your favorite?
  • What genres don’t you like? Why?

Target Language

Narrative Tenses

When we tell a story we can combine different verb tenses in the past to enrich the narrative.

We use the Past Simple to tell the essential events of the narrative. The Past Continuous gives information about the situation, by setting the scene for the event. When we wish to refer back to facts that happened before the main events of the narrative, we use Past Perfect.

  • As Jon and Daenerys were kissing, he kept thinking to himself about everything they had accomplished together and a cold went down his spine. He knew what he had to do, but still his hands were shaking. So he finally stabbed her in the stomach, before letting go of her lips, even though he had loved her so dearly much.

Expressions of De-stressing

Useful expressions to refer to stress being relieved:

  • There’s nothing like a relaxing massage after a long day of work.
  • I’ll try to have a few drinks to see if I can loosen up a bit.
  • Meditation is an excellent tool to slow down and think clearly about things.
  • Terry is taking up boxing classes in order to let/blow off steam. He’s got a lot on his plate right now.
  • Having kids is very demanding. Only when they are asleep can the parents de-stress a little.
  • Chill out, man. I’m sure it’s no big deal. She’ll call you back.
  • My routine is so stressful, that’s why I usually go running to unwind and forget a bit about my problems.

Controlled Practice

  • Match the halves.
  1. Instead, relaxing, lying around in bed, going out…
  2. Coming to bingo is the only chance I get to…
  3. I told her she could call me and talk any…
  4. Couples looking for a good way to unwind are…
  5. After a couple of pints we began to loosen up and we…
  6. Too much sympathetic nervous system activity…

(   ) relax, chill out and have a bit of a natter with my friends or family.

(   ) time she wanted to blow off steam.

(   ) had a great night talking rubbish and joking and laughing.

(   ) also advised to check out a Colorado Mountain vacation.

(   ) can be associated with stress, anxiety, and dysphoric mood.

(   ) and eating nice food was the order of the day.

  1. Instead, relaxing, lying around in bed, going out…
  2. Coming to bingo is the only chance I get to…
  3. I told her she could call me and talk any…
  4. Couples looking for a good way to unwind are…
  5. After a couple of pints we began to loosen up and we…
  6. Too much sympathetic nervous system activity…

(2) relax, chill out and have a bit of a natter with my friends or family.

(3) time she wanted to blow off steam.

(5) had a great night talking rubbish and joking and laughing.

(4) also advised to check out a Colorado Mountain vacation.

(6) can be associated with stress, anxiety, and dysphoric mood.

(1) and eating nice food was the order of the day.

Freer Practice

  • Complete the sentences according to your own ideas.
    • I needed to blow off steam when…
    • One thing that stresses me out is… because…
    • I know a person who is never… and is always really…
    • There’s nothing more relaxing than… 
    • Not even… could help me to relax after…
    • People get… for no reason. They should…
    • Taking time to relax is… but also…
    • To slow down one can…

Production

  • Use the target language to guess what happened before the following situations and to give advice.

Example: I think that he was walking and remembered he had forgotten his wallet at home. One piece of advice I can give is…

  • A woman suddenly started to scream in the library.
  • A couple is fighting in the bakery.
  • Two classmates are really bad at math.
  • A friend broke up with his girlfriend and regrets it.
  • A neighbor lost a lot of money.
  • The road is closed for hours.

Homework

Fill in the gaps to make Past Continuous sentences.

Example: The bushes _____ (spread). > The bushes were spreading.
  1. She ______ the plants. (water)
  2. He _______  heart surgery. (undergo)
  3. They ________ for the princess’ love. (fight)
  4. The honey badger _______ the duck’s eggs. (steal)
  5. We ___________ in the lake. (swim) 
  1. She was watering the plants. (water)
  2. He was undergoing heart surgery. (undergo)
  3. They were fighting for the princess’ love. (fight)
  4. The honey badger was stealing the duck’s eggs. (steal)
  5. We were swimming in the lake. (swim) 

Put the word chunks in the correct Past Continuous order. 

Example: the Sea of Galille. / on the waters of / was walking / Jesus > Jesus was walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee.
  1. at me. / was barking / The dog
  2. every night after / Macbeth was having / the king’s death. / nightmares 
  3. very close to / driving / They were / the fence. 
  4. about the whale / emerged / was thinking / when the sea monster / Captain Ahab /
  5. from Tina / on the sidewalk. / Gumball was running / when he felt
  1. The dog was barking at me. 
  2. Macbeth was having nightmares every night after the king’s death.
  3. They were driving very close to the fence.
  4. Captain Ahab was thinking about the whale when the sea monster emerged.
  5. Gumball was running from Tina when he fell on the sidewalk. 

Fill in the blanks with the proper conjugation (Past Simple and Past Continuous) to add meaning to the sentences.

Example: I ______ at her eyes while she ______ my arm. (look; stitch) > I looked at her eyes while she was stitching my arm.
  1. I _____ two sodas while I ______ that pumpkin. (drink; eat)
  2. Daemond’s dragon _______ for hours, so they _____ to rest. (fly; land)
  3. The hare ______ under a tree, but the tortoise ____ walking slowly. (sleep; keep)
  4. Kal-El _______ on Earth at the same time his planet _______. (arrive; collapse)
  5. My phone _____ at the kitchen. I heard it. But I  _____ to stay in the pool, drinking a smoothie. (ring; prefer) 
  1. I drank two sodas while I was eating that pumpkin. 
  2. Daemond’s dragon was flying for hours, so they landed to rest. 
  3. The hare was sleeping under a tree, but the tortoise kept walking slowly.
  4. Kal-El arrived on Earth at the same time his planet was collapsing.
  5. My phone was ringing in the kitchen. I heard it. But I preferred to stay in the pool, drinking a smoothie.

Spot the mistakes and rewrite these sentences.

Example: When God maked the platypus, He were joking. > When God made the platypus, He was joking. 
  1. Balzac drunk too much wine one night, but in the next morning he was wrote as usual. 
  2. He was park the Batmobile in the cave when Diana calls him. 
  3. It was a rainy night when Hester desided to visit Dimmesdale. He were reading at the church. 
  4. Chico Bento loves guavas. One day he wented to Nhô Lau’s farm to steal guavas of his trees. He was ate guavas up on the tree when Nhô Lau spotted him. 
  5. Paganini is playing the violin when the crowd interruptd him, yelling: “Toca Raul!”
  1. Balzac drank too much wine one night, but in the next morning he was writing as usual.
  2. He was parking the Batmobile in the cave when Diana called him.
  3. It was a rainy night when Hester decided to visit Dimmesdale. He was reading at the church. 
  4. Chico Bento loves guavas. One day he went to Nhô Lau’s farm to steal guavas from his trees. He was eating guavas up on the tree when Nhô Lau spotted him.
  5. Paganini was playing the violin when the crowd interrupted him, yelling: “Toca Raul!”

Identify the nouns and the verbs and put the words in the correct order to add meaning to the sentence. 

Example: wheat drinking were beers Frodo’s They on tab. > They were drinking wheat beers on Frodo’s tab. 
 
  1. the  He at flea doing what he market. know was didn’t
  2. hissing The was us. at wind
  3. scene, the Miss at  Wonderley. Spade was about thinking crime arrived he Sam When
  4. Quincas Rubião missing dog were their and the jokes. absurd his and friend
  5. the different language. The in army translator. called were a a talking aliens So
  1. He didn’t know what he was doing at the flea market.
  2. The wind was hissing at us. 
  3. When Sam Spade arrived at the crime scene, he was thinking about Miss Wonderley.
  4. Rubião and the dog were missing their friend Quincas and his absurd jokes.
  5. The aliens were talking in a different language. So the army called a translator.

Writing

Use the target language to write a short text about a moment when you really needed to relax. Remember to use as much of the Target Language as possible.

Example: Once I got into a fight with my best friend because he was driving too fast, so I…