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Agnes Chan What do you know about Agnes Chan?

Who is she?

Singer, songwriter, essayist, novelist and Professor
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Where is she from?
Why is she famous?

Singer and United Nations Ambassador
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LISTENING 1:


Watch the video clip from Advanced English Conversation: Active Agnes and answer the following questions about Agnes Chan

  1. How many people are in her family?



    7: 3 brothers, 2 sisters, Mom and Dad


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  2. How old was she when she was first noticed?






  3. Where was it?



    At a charity concert in her school.


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  4. What brought her to Japan?



    A producer and songwriter came over to Hong Kong and asked her to come to Japan to sing.


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  5. When did she learn Japanese?



    She learned after she entered university in Japan


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  6. What was first phrase she learned?






  7. How did she learn her songs?



    Romaji: The Romanization of Japanese using the Latin alphabet.


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  8. What did she write in her notebook?



    When somebody said something to her in Japanese, she would write it down and ask people what it meant.


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  9. Why?



    To learn Japanese, everyday conversation.


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  10. What did she find the most difficult?



    To get feedback on her singing/performances.


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LISTENING 2:


This time watch the video clip and take notes on how Agnes Chan explains the differences between singing in English, Cantonese and Japanese.





POST LISTENING QUESTIONS



Using your notes, answer the following questions:
  1. How does she feel about singing in Cantonese?



    She likes it because the meaning comes through transparently.


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  2. 2. How does she feel about singing in English?



    Beautiful, easy to rhyme and sounds very good especially in ballads.


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  3. How does she feel about singing in Japanese?



    Very difficult and the most challenging out of the three.


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  4. Which one does she prefer and why?



    Cantonese because she feels at home with it.


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