Well, it seemed too far in October when we started this adventure of learning English together... and now it's about to finish! Well, this time I'm not going to say much, just goodbye, hope you pass your exams and, of course, enjoy your summer!
Please listen to the following songs, I promise it will be one of the last things I'll ask you to do, at least for the moment:
BrE or AmE? I mean, do you prefer British or American English? Which do you find easier to understand? As there are some differences in vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation and grammar, learning about those differences can help you understand both varieties better, so why don't we work with it a bit more?
Watch the following video where the protagonist of Doctor House goes to Ellen Show, an American TV Show, and plays a funny quiz about British and American slang.
Now, watch this video about the differences in very common vocabulary between British and American English:
Next, you can carry on by using a British to American translator before having a look to the following information and examples about BrE and AmE:
Now, listen to a very famous song, Louis Amstrong and Ella Fitzgerald: "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off". Here you can listen to the difference in pronunciation of several common words in AmE and BrE.
Compare these two pictures ... yes ... you are right, Colin Firth is in both of them! And not only that, he plays the same character in both, the famous Jane Austin's novel Pride and Prejudice and the film Bridget Jones's Diary.
But as we have seen in our class practice where we have analysed your reader for this semester (Pride and Prejudice from Penguin Readers Upper Intermediate) in comparison with this film, there are more similarities and differences between the two of them.
In case you want to learn more about this special relatioship, here you have more links, with commets, reviews, quizzes ... Don't forget to have fun!
Do you know that there is even a Bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice? Yeah, I know, it's amazing! It's called Bride and Prejudice and was directed by the same director of Bend it Like Beckham. Enjoy the trailer!
Guess what? DIY English has been awarded with ‘Vale a pena ficar de olho nesse blog’ award by Laura Sánchez García an EOI English teacher and author of a fascinating blog called English Without End. I think you will find this blog really interesting, and although it is intended for advance students, I'm sure you'll find you can also work with most of the activities there.
This award is part of an initiative that seeks to highlight the blogs of other teachers and students. The chosen blog has to copy the picture (the one on the left), with a link to the blog from which it has received the award. Then you have to write ten more links to the blogs which are well worth a visit. For me, they are:
Now that we have discovered the secret story behind Barbie, i.e. the fact she wasn't originally created by Mattel but by a German toy maker and that she was called Lily. Let's see what more we can learn about other famous trade marks and best selling products.
Take the secret formula of Coca Cola as an example. We all know just a few people in the world know about it. Watch the following video Coca Cola: The Real Story behing the Real Thing to see if you can learn more about this famous company:
Now you can have look to the following videos about WalMart (an American chain of large, discount department store), to learn more not about how it was created but about the secret of its its low prices:
Walmart Secret to Low Prices (Part 1)
Walmart Secret to Low Prices (Part 2)
Next, why don't we continue with the topic of secrets to learn more about the world you live in ? Practise some listening skills by clicking on the following link from BBC Learning English Service:
Finally, would you like to test your ability to keep secrets? You probably know by now, anyway, try the following quizzes to learn more about you or people you know, enjoy!
Imagine you were in a jury, would you be able to spot a liar? It could be difficult or at least challenging, couldn't it? Perhaps you have never been in that situation, and hopefully you won't, so let's think of something else ... what about news? You know, nowadays in all democratic countries news are said to be biased on TV, on the net , on newspapers... i.e. depending on their political ideoligy ,they will present the same news in one way or another. Is saying half truths the same as lying?
Let's take Fox News as an example now that they are constantly being accused of transforming news in ways that suit them better. Watch the following videos so that you can get an overview of what we are talking about:
Well, what do you think now? You can carry on searching about this on the Net to shape your own opinion, but first read this information about American TV channel and then if you want you can visit its official webpage:
Well, now that you know a bit more about famous liars... let's come back to the starting point of this post, how to spot a liar. Here you have some clues about how to know when you are being lied. And some quizzes about lies and relationships, are being cheated?
Well, after watching the TV Series Close to Home (Season 1 Episode 15) Reasonable Doubts, which I hope you enjoy... how about doing some revision exercises?
First, have a look at the following website where you can find lots of exercises related to crimes and criminals. Go through the different links and enjoy!
I promise this is the end of the post. Listen to the following pieces of news from the BBC Learning English Service, and also read the report. Thus, you can check if you learn some vocabulary with the previous links:
Now there are no more excuses for not using English songs to learn the language by saying you find the song very difficult or you don't know what to do apart from just listening and reading.
The other day somebody told me about this amazing webpage lyricstrainig.com a simple and fun method to improve your foreign languages skills, not only English, through listening to the music and typing the lyrics. If you go to lyricstraining.com you'll listen to the song you choose through a You Tube video and then you can choose an exercise among three options beginner/intermediat/expert. Try it with these songs:
A series from the BBC Learning Service that looks at some not so well known features of some very well known places.There are text, audio and video comprehension exercises to help you practise and improve your English. Choose a location from the list on the right, or the map below and click to go beyond the postcard
It's sometimes amazing how the power of the mind can help one to get out of difficult situations or help you get what you want... For example, think about smokers who say they're going to stop smoking and they just do it without any help, or sportmen and women who look really exhausted and tired but also very focussed during an important competition and at the end against all odds they win them. Their mind, thought, will, subconscious ... call it the way you want it's simply fascinating!
There are many issues related with the mind, youcan believe on them or not, either way have a look to the following webpage only about news related with mind power:
And what about supernatural or unearthy powers, do you believe on them? Have you ever watched an American TV Series called Heroes? If not, try to imagine what it is about...yes you are right... about people with powerful gifts. Watch:
Listen to the its creator and how did he come up with the concept of the show:
Now you can listen to some interviews with some of the protagonists:
If you want to know more about the TV Series or the protagonists here is the official link:
In the last few lessons we have come across some pronunciation issues that are usually a bit tricky for some of you. Then, why don't we practise a bit more? If your answer was yes, here you have some links and actvities I hope they help you in the non-stop task of improving your English pronunciation. If your answer was not, think twice and practise!
WEAK AND STRONG FORMS. Here you have some links with some information and practice:
SILENT LETTERS. By now I hope you are familiar with the great lot of information and practice about different English issues that you can find online and of course on YouTube. Start your review on common silent letters by watching this funny video called Suicidal Silent Letters! It's great!
Now watch this one before moving to the online exercises.
In case you feel like practising more your pronunciation on more general aspects, here you have a some interesting links, some of which you can find in My Favourite Links section.
Well...it's amazing how time goes by so quickly... but more or less in a couple of months we will have finished this year course!
Do you remember that questionnaire I ask you to fill in during the first week of the course? Come on try it? That one where you told me about your main problems with English (speaking, listening, writing, reading, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar) and some things you were going to do by yourself during the whole year at home to try to overcome them. By now I'm sure you can imagine my next question... yes... you are right, did you do anything of the things you said you would? In a week or so, I will return your questionnaires and you will have to tick the things you did and cross the ones you didn't, so here you have one more oportunity to try to do something about it, apart from the lots of interesting webpages you can find in the blog, for example in MY FAVOURITE LINKS section.
Yeah... I know... I know... you don't have much free time for that, but you know sometimes you need to find it to work a bit more if you want to improve your skills with the language. A quick way to practise it's a quick access to the information so look at what I found! a new link, which I already added to My Favourite Links, called the The English Club includes a lots of links ordered by skills, pronunciation, vocabulary... so... come on it's perfect to help you practise a bit more in a more independent way. So, try it!
At the begining of the course most of you told me that you wanted to learn English for academic and professional purposes, by now you alrady know learning a language is a lifelong commitment with yourself. In case you feel like carrying on with your studies abroad during the summer, here you have direct links to some English language courses abroad. Anyway, thave a look to the information about the courses, accomodation, activities... and do an online booking, just for the sake of practising!
Nowadays with the current state of affairs in the economical and financial arena lots of people are looking for new job opportunities for different reasons, but mainly for being unemployed.
Watch the following videos with some useful advice:
Check the following link about JOB HUNTING, it might help you:
One of the things many people do when they buy a new house is spending their free time in furniture and decoration stores. If you just bought a new house you know what I'm talking about, don't you?
But maybe you are at a different stage now , perhaps trying to sell your house to move to a new one. Then, why don't we start by watching a TV programme where they give us tips about how to add value to our house to sell it better?
Now, once we know how to sell our house, let's see if we know where we can go to buy furniture. Why don't we play a little game... could you name at least three very famous shops in your city?.... Let's see... IKEA, of course, and then.... maybe...Zara Home, Casa... By the way, do you know why IKEA has become so popular if at the end of the day you have to set everything by yourself? I imagine it's because it's probably the cheapest way of redecorating your house.
In case you are currently decorating your own house, here you can find some ideas from some of the most common shops you could go or you could order furniture from, this could be also a good way to improve your vocabulary as you will see everyday objects next to their English translation. why don't have a go?:
Some people can find decorating a new house very hard, well maybe it's just a matter our knowledge of which is our own style first. Come on try the quiz and watch the video "Color your house":
But, why do some of us worry about these matters?I don't know... maybe because most people stay at home a lot of time during a year and we like it looks nice and comfortable. What about holidays, do you like staying at home or do you like travelling? If you like travelling, where do you usually stay? in a hotel? at a campsite? in a rented appartment? There are more possibilities of course, for example, an increasing phenomenon is Swapping Houses, free accommodation for you and someone to water your plants while you're away!Have you ever tried it?
You can learn more about it by doing the following listening activity:
I'm sure you are all familiar with some of the celebrations of some English speaking countries, such as: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas, Easter and maybe even Guy Fawkes Night also known as Bonfire Night, but do you know when, who and what is celebrated on Saint Patrick's Day?
If the answer is no or you just want to learn more about it, have a look to this link:
And watch the following video about a lesson in honor of St. Patrick Day where you can learn some vocabulary related with the topic:
If you want you can carry on with the following funny video:
Now that you know a lot of things about this celebration, you could feel like enjoying a pint in one of the Irish pubs we have in Madrid next Wednesday, March 17th. Come on, you could meet some friends and have a real St. Patrick's Day just run the corner! Have a look to these links to see where is the nearest Irish pub for you: