Bye Bye Bye!

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:

Placebo - Song to Say Goodbye (lyricstraining.com)





Let's finish with a funny goodbye:

Made in the US or the UK

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:

British vs American English
Pronunciation of Vocabulary Differences
Vocabulary Differences (1st part)
Vocabulary Differences (2nd part)
Spelling Differences
Pronunciation
Grammar Differences
Business English

Now, do you fancy some real practice?

Ex. 1: British & American English Quiz
Ex. 2: British vs American Vocabulary
Ex. 3: British/American Vocabulary Matching
Ex. 4: List of British and American English Exercises
Ex. 5: Listening (Talk like the locals)

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.

Bridget Jones, a modern Elisabeth Bennet?

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!

Quiz: Pride and Prejudice vs. Bridget Jones (funtrivia.com)
It is a truth universally acknowledge... (bridgetarchive.com)
Is Bridget the new Elisabeth?
Briget Jones Web and 2nd movie
Helen Fielding - Bridget's novel writer (Wikipedia)
Some movie reviews

Would you like to know more about Jane Austin?:

Classic Literature: Jane Austin - articles, books... (About.com)
Jane Austin Centre Website in Bath, England

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!



Bride and Prejudice - Bollywood movie (Wikipedia)
Gurinder Chadha - its film maker (Wikipedia)

It's worth keeping an eye on that blog

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:

• Movie Segments
• English Without End
• Alpozo's Phonetic Blog
• Ana's Blog
• English Teaching Lab
• The English Blog
  
• The English Café
  
• Matilde's English Corner
• Carlos' English Corner
• Six Things
  

As the name of this award says, it's worth keeping an eye on these blogs, so please take the time to do it, you won't regret it!

Secret Stories

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:

Secrets of the Rainforest - 6 Minutes English (Listening)

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!

Quiz: Can you keep a secret? - Elle.com
Quiz: What age do you act? - Blogthings.com

How to spot a liar

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:

Fox according to Wikipedia
Fox News Boycott Lies
Fox News - foxnews.com

Now, here you have some links to webs with famous quotations about lies and famous liars:

Famous quotes about lies and liars
Liar quotes
Famous liars (presidents, media...)
National Institute of Prevarication (famous liars)

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?

6 tell tale signs that somebody is lying (About.com)
Quiz: Is your steady cheating (About.com)
Quiz: Are you being played?(About.com)
Quiz: Are you too trusting? (About.com)

Crime Scene

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!

Vocabulary: Crimes and Criminals - www.telf.net

Are you done? Then it's time for some listening practice. Do some listening activites with the accompanying exercises, script...

Listening 1: Security Systems (esl-lab.com)
Listening 2: Home Security (esl-lab.com)

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:

Parisian shop sues crime writer
Easyjet accused of breaking labour laws
Pensioners 'kidnap' financial advisor
Burma may release Aung San Suu Kyi

Lyrics Training

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:

Russian Roulette - Riahna



Lucky - Jason Mraz (feat Clara)

Beyond the postcard

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

Beyond the postcard - bbc.com

Moving around

Have you ever got lost in a new city? and in your own city trying to get to an area you are not familiar with? Problably yes!

Good news guys... there's one thing which is easier in English than in Spanish... can you guess it? You are right...getting lost!


To make the task of getting lost in a foreing place, let's work a bit more, first watch the following videos:

Now browse the following link to work more on the language and vocabulary:

How to... directions - BBC Learning English

Next, you can do some topic-related listening exercises:

Listening 1: Where's the movie theatre? (esl-lab.com)
Listening 2: Driving Road Test (esl-lab.com)
Listening 3: Taxi Ride (esl-lab.com)

Finally, if you want to work a bit more some of your skills, here you have a listening and some vocabulary related exercise with the word road:

Roadmap - BBC Learning English

Mind Power

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:

Mind Power News

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:

Heroes - nbc.com

To end this post just do some of the following quizzes about another important part of the subconscious mind, our dreams:

Quiz: Health and Dreams
Dream Quiz Interpretation
Personality and Dreams Quiz

More on pronunciation

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:

Phonetics: Strong vs. Weak Forms
Pronunciation Lessons 3: Weak Syllables

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.

English Phonetics: Silent Letters - multiple choice exercise
English Phonetics: Mark the silent consonant

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.

Many Things English - Pronunciation (+ listening, vocabulary...)
Multimedia-English.com - Phonetics Index

Learning to Learn

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!

The English Club - 4 skills practice + pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar...

You can also do some listening activities from esl-lab.com or elllo.org regarding the current unit's topic , education:

Listening 1: School Report
Listening 2: A university Degree
Listening 3: Grad School
Listening 4: Job Hunting

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!

EE English Language Courses
Oxford royale Academy
St. Clare's Oxford

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:

Job-Hunt.org - how to get started, career resources, help from job search experts, news...
Job-Hunting-Tips.com

Finally, if you want to learn some more vocabulary related to the topic or get more imformation about covering letters and cv check this link:

Get that job (bbc) - Vocabulary, letters, interviews...

Decorating Your House

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?:

IKEA online
CASA shops
Zara Home online
Furniture.com
Overstock.com

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":

What's your decorating style? - Quiz


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:

House Swap LISTENING - 6 Minutes English (bbc.com/learningenglish)

Finally, if you want to learn some more vocabulary have a look to the links below:

Rooms in a house

House Idioms

Saint Patrick's Day

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:

Saint Patrick's Day - Wikipedia

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:

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day: 15 Irish Pubs in Madrid - Planeteye Traveler

Eire force in Madrid and how they celebrate this day - InMadrid.com

International Women's Day

As you probably know, March 8th is the International Women's Day. As its own name shows there are lots of celebrations all around the world, so if you feel like learning more about this day and the situation of some women in this 21st century world, you can watch these videos, starting with what the UN Secretary General have to say about this day:

Don't miss these webs:

International Women's Day - Official Webpage

Women Watch - UN International Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality


Finally, read some news about this day:

Pay for women still in the middle ages

A pledge of support for women

Oscar 2010: Is Kathryn -Bigelow's victory a win for women?

Men and women, are we equal?

We all know some years ago there were a lot of things women weren't allowed to do, i.e. they couldn't vote, buy a house or open a bank account alone, yeah I know, unbelievable! Well, fortunately, those things changed, and some others are still changing.

It might sound a bit funny, but if I think about how women finally got the rights that belong to them from the beginning, one of the things that comes to my mind is the film Mary Poppins. Do you remember the children's mother? She was part of the suffragette movement. There was even a song, Sister Suffragette, about it. Fancy listening to it?

Once we have enjoyed this song and remembered a time when we were younger, let's take this matter a bit more seriously. If we think about women being treated unfairly around the world, one of the first things that comes into our mind is women living in Arab or Muslim countries. Watch the following interviews and listen to what these two important women living in that part of the world have to say about these issues:




Queen Rania's YouTube Channel
Queen Rania's official webpage
Queen Rania - Wikipedia






Queen Noor of Jordan - Biography.com
Her Majesty - noor.gov.jo

Let's go shopping!

Sales period after Xmas is finished and I have some questions for you... did you buy lots of things just because they were cheaper than usual ? or did you just buy things you are sure you are going to wear? I think if I did a survey, probaby 95% would choose the first option, isn't it true?

Well, I love starting my day wearing something new, but I hate going shopping on a Saturday afternoon! Why? Because you end up spending your free time in a place full of people where the only thing you are sure of is that you are going to waste a lot of time queuing for everything: for a parking space, for you turn in the changing rooms, or to pay for what you bought...!

Nowadays, a lot of people choose another option, i.e. going shopping online by visiting different webpages where you can buy many different items that later on are deliveried at your door and what is best without waiting or queues! Have you ever tried it? You can even shop online in the same places you usually go shopping. Have a look to the following links:

Topshop

Mango Outlet

Harrod's online

Want to shop safe?

How do you choose the things you normally buy? Do you just go to a shop and get something you like? or do you buy something you have already seen somewhere else, for example, a fashion magazine? If so, do you usually buy fashion magazines? or do you sometimes have a look to them when given the opportunity? As you know, you can visit them online, so have a look:

Top 10 fashion magazines (Vogue, Elle, In-style, Glamour...)

Fashion Victims Magazine

What's your favourite magazine? Maybe Vogue? Well, I don't know, anyway, watch the following videos from a CNN's programme called Revealed where the editor of Vogue Paris takes you behind the scenes of one of the world's most glamorous magazines (March 09).

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



If you liked the documentary, read more about her and her work in the following links:

French Vogue to tighten its belt. (cnn.com)

Roitfeld: American Vogue job 'not for me' (cnn.com)

Britishness Test

Do you know that if you want to be a British citizen you have to pass a computer-based test? It is called Britishness Test. Ok, maybe you have not exactly been thinking about that, but... wouldn't it be funny to give it a try and see how many right answers can you get after all these years of learning the language?

Test 1 - BBC News Magazine
Test 2 - BBC News Magazine
Online Test Practice

Nobel Peace Prize

I imagine you have heard some news about this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, yes, the US President, Mr. Obama, where you surprised when you found it out? I mean, is the President of a country as the USA the best example of PEACE? Do you think the board who selected the winner had real time to see how much of Mr. Obama's nice plans have been accomplished so far? Or they just selected him because he is not George W. Bush?

Well, perhaps this could be a good topic for some of your class presentations, you know those small little tiny presentations you have to prepare this year... you and I know what we are talking about, don't we?

Anyway, here you have some more information about this year Nobel Peace Prize and how this issue has been covered by the international media:



BBC - Please don't miss the Videos & Audios section
CNN - Read and Watch

By the way, do you know who was Alfred Nobel? Among other things, he was the inventor of dynamite, isn't it surprising? and what do you know about the history of the Nobel Prize? Let's check what you already know and learn more with the following links:

Alfred Nobel
Nobel Prize History