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

Xmas Time

Well, I have some good and bad news for you, let's start by the good one... Christmas is coming so you are going to have more time to spend with your family, eat and drink a lot, give and receive lots of presents... or maybe that was the bad news... well ... don't know. But you are definitely going to have some holidays, aren't you?

Although it might be the case that by now some of you are sick of hearing about Christmas as every time this holiday seems to start earlier. Well, some more good news is that if you are tired of Spanish Christmas you can always learn more about other traditions all around the world, especially those of some English speaking countries, for instance, the UK, the US...

Let's start with a common tradition in most cultures, Christmas Carols, do you like singing? and singing Xmas carols? In case you don't know the answer to that question yet, you can try and see with this very famous Xmas Carol:

Song lyrics | All I Want For Christmas Is You lyrics

This song became very famous a few years ago with a film called Love Actually. It is located in London and, although is at Xmas time ... yeah I know ... there are like 1,000 Xmas films on TV every day during this period of the year, but trust me this one isn't the typical one, so if you haven't seen it yet, it could be a good oportunity, here you have the trailer.





Other common tradition all around is food, so here you can find some very famous Christmas recipes in English culture:

Christmas Recipes

Here you have some more mix ability practise related to this topic:

Christmas Gift Listening - Multiple Choice
General Xmas Trivia - Quiz

Finally, you can read a bit about how popular online shopping is even more at Christmas and you can even have a look at some webs, maybe you get some ideas for your own Xmas gifts, good luck!

Christmas shopping stalls Walmart.com
The Great Christmas shopping price fix
somucheasier.co.uk - online shopping webpage
Great Christmas gift ideas - online shopping webpage

How much technology is in your life?

How much technology do you use in your everyday life? And how much Technology related vocabulary do you know? Let's see by testing your techno-jargon with the following test:

Test your Techno-jargon

Do you have a computer or a laptop at home? Do you use a Microsoft PC or an Apple Mac? In Europe Macs are not so popular but they are getting more and more popular everyday as they are already in places as, for example, the US .

Watch the following video: Apple Boy vs Microsoft Man where both are compared in quite a funny way:

And now that we have started to enjoy why stop it? Watch the following cartoons about Gates vs Jobs or what's the same Microsoft vs Apple, it's great!

If you still feel in the mood for more technology related issues here you can read some news articles about some of the latest developments in technology:

Can Google Wave replace e-mail? (CNN.com)
20 new techie gadgets not to be missed (time.com)

Out & About

Guess what? There is a wonderful website with a section called 'Welcome to London' where you can follow some characters through a series of situations as they arrive and settle down in the city. What is really good about this is that you can listen to the typical conversations taking place when you are visiting a city. Useful, isn't it? Even more if some of you are lucky enough to go abroad this Christmas!

Welcome to London

The IT Crowd

As you seemed to enjoy the episode from The IT Crowd we watched in class, here you can find some bits and pieces about the next episodes. Have fun:

The IT Crowd Bits and pieces from YouTube

Now, if you want to know a bit more about this TV series, its actors or you just want to watch more episodes or clips, have a look to the following links, enjoy!

Official Website
The IT Crowd in Channel 4 - episodes and clips

Did you enjoy it? I hope so. Now... let's focus on more formal issues, if you remember we used the first episode of this TV series to review the 'not-so-popular' phrasal verbs we worked in unit 1, what a about some more practice... come on... let's try:

Face up to Phrasal
Funky Phrasal Verbs - bbc

Thanksgiving Day

Hey, this year November 26th is Thanksgiving Day. This holiday has not a fixed day, it's not like Christmas Day... but it is always celebrated on the last Thursday of November.

Anyway you are problably familiar with it due to a lot of American TV Series we normally watch. Unfortunatelly not always in original version, am I right? Well, don't worry about the past... think about the present and watch the following videos, hope you have fun!



What about Friends, Thanksgiving and Brad Pitt...



And a bit of American football...

Let's learn a bit more about this special day in American culture, some special recipes for this day...

Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving Day (traditions around the world, recipes...)

Well, by now you know the US is not the only country where Thanksgiving is celebrated. Do the following listening activity and learn how different it is celebrated in other countries such as Canada. Then try the cloze test, thus you will be also pratising for the exam in June.

Canadian Thanksgiving (Listening practice)
Thanksgiving Cloze (Reading practice)