Charlie Chaplin: Music Man

In this A2 article, your students will learn about Charlie Chaplin’s life and films, and about the importance of music in both his life and his art. Although he could not read music, he was able to compose and play the violin by ear, and even direct an orchestra. Most of his films were silent, but music played a major role in them. For those of you who teach in or near Paris, the exhibition at la Philharmonie is well worth a visit.

Vocabulary

• dates
• expressing an opinion, agreeing and disagreeing
• famous, popular, international, all over the world / all around the world
• recognise, recognisable, distinctive
• popular, a success, a triumph

 Grammar

• indirect speech (I don’t know / I want to know when/who/why/how/if...)
• past and present simple

Pronunciation

• stress (Charlie Chaplin, London, California, music, dictator, popular...)
• /ə/ eg in ‘He was born in London’ , ‘He was popular all over the world’
• pronunciation of <o> and <or> London /ˈlʌndən/, popular /ˈpɒpjʊlə/, world /wɝld/
• pronunciation of transparent words: dialogue, triumph, violin

Charlie Chaplin: l’homme-orchestre
Exhibition at La Philharmonie de Paris
Till 26 January 2020