A person who made an impression on you.

Listen to this girl talking about a person who made a big impression on her and answer the questions you've been given.

Thanksgiving

We are going to watch this video about the history of Thanksgiving.



Now, read about the origin of this tradition here and also learn more about a traditional  Thanksgiving meal.

For some other thanksgiving traditions in the States, click here.

And finally, you can read about some other festivals around the world that also celebrate a good  harvest. Click here to find out.

Describing a friend

Go to Inside Out Video Anecdote website and listen to a girl describing a friend, answer the questions below:

Where did she meet her friend?

In which ways are they different?

In which ways are they similar?

How often do they meet?

What did they do the last time they saw each other?

Now, listen again and complete the gaps in the sentences with a word or a phrase.

We met each other five years ago when we were ______________________________.

We became friends because we just _________________________. She thought her friend was _____________________.

They both speak their mind so they´ve had some ____________________ although never a big _________________________.

Michele works as a  _____________________ .

The last time she saw her was for ___________________________. They were going to go to the _____________________but is  was __________________ so they went to a __________________________ place instead.

Now describe one of your best friends.

The Real Birmingham Family Project

What's your idea of a typical Spanish family?

Read about the Real Birmingham family project. The family that wins will have a life-size bronze statue made to be set outside the new Library in Birmingham.

More than 300 hundred familities nominated themselves. Read about the shorlisted families here and decide which family in your opinion might best represent a typical British family from that city.

You can see a video about one of the families here:



This is another of the shortlisted families:

How to win friends and influence people

Read these tips taken from the best-selling book "How to make friends and influence people" and say if you agree or disagree with them:

To go to the tips, click here

Talking about a film you´ve enjoyed

You will hear someone talking about a film they´ve enjoyed. Complete the gaps in the sentences according to what you hear. Go here to watch the video.

I saw this film ___________ now  because  it _______ in 1994.

It _______ Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. It’s_____ by Frank Darabont.

It is  _____________a short story by Stephen King.

I would say the genre is ____________.

This movie is about ________ who goes to prison for life for_______________he didn´t do.

It´s about __________ he develops while in prison.

The acting is_______. The script is________.

You go on a real __________when you watch this film.

The music is by Thomas Newman who did the original ________ and it really pulls at the________________ .

The ending is ____________.

It´s a film that will take you on an _________.

So if __________this movie, watch it because it´s brilliant.

Now, prepare notes to talk about a film you´ve enjoyed.

Why we love a film that makes us cry

Can you think of films you´ve seen that made you cry??
Do men also cry at the cinema?
Can you think of adjectives to describe very sad, moving films??

For answers to these questions you can listen to this podcast.

If you want to learn more about what makes people cry in films you should watch this video and read the information below about The Les Miserables.

And if you are curious and you want to read a list of twenty films that make men cry, click here.

I wish I was a fisherman

Dear all,

This is one of my all time favourite songs and also a good one to practise the I wish structure.

Try this exercise first. You can listen to the lyrics and read about the song.

You can also watch this live version:


You can sing along and dance to it if you want.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

How much do you know about this Irish tradition?

Do this quiz:

If you want to check the answers to the quiz and learn more things about St. Patrick's Day. Watch the video below and find out:



And if you want to celebrate it, you can join in the Irish dancing Riverdance-style in this cute flashmob in Sidney. I love it!!!!.

Help with listening

Dear all,

These are some useful websites if you want to do listening practice at home:

LISTENING EXERCISES:
 ELLLO
A wide range of listening exercises from different varieties of English
 Randall ESL Cyber Lab
Listening exercises organised according to level and topic
ESL Video
 Listening exercises with video.
Lyrics training.
Listening activitiess with songs.

AUDIO FILES WITH SCRIPTS:

6 minute English
 You can listen to the programmes and then read the tapescript. You can also subscribe to the podcast.
Words in the news
You can listen to the reports, then read the script and learn vocabulary.
Voice of America Learn English Videos and audios with scripts at a slower pace.
National Public Radio
 Most radio programmes come with a script.
CNN Student News
Videos about the news with scripts.

ALTERNATIVELY,
You could type in 'Listening resources for ESL' in the google search button. There´s lots out there.

If you know of any useful websites, you would like to share with your classmates, please feel welcome to send the websites as a comment to this post.

Thank you.

The Eden Project

Watch two videos about the Eden Project in Cornwall and answer the questions below:

What´s the main aim of the Eden Project?

Would you like to visit it? If so, why??

Interview with Spielberg and Daniel Day Lewis on the release of Lincoln

Dear all,

As an alternative exercise to the typical listening tasks we usually do in class, I thought that you could have a go at interpreting Spielberg and Daniel Day Lewis' words.
Pause after each of their answers, translate what they have said in your own words and then ckeck your understanding by listening to the actual interpreter.


You can play the interview here:

I hope you enjoy the activity and learn a lot of interesting things about Lincoln and movie making.