Great website for English language news

I'd like to share a great resource I've just found for English language news on a huge range of topics from a wide variety of sources, all in one place: http://www.newsnow.co.uk/ . Updates are frequent, too.

It has been added to my Favourites list. Check it out!









(Image from http://anysnapshot.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Earth-Globe-Icons-Set-Free-300x205.jpg )

In Memory of Rock Legend, Lou Reed

American rock legend Lou Reed died at age 71 yesterday.

Have you heard of him? Here's one of his most popular songs, which I remember from my youth!

http://www.youtube.com/watch v=QYEC4TZsy-Y



"Perfect Day"

Songwriters: JAMES, TIM / ARMATO, ANTONINA

Just a perfect day
drink Sangria in the park
And then later
when it gets dark, we go home

Just a perfect day
feed animals in the zoo
Then later
a movie, too, and then home

Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spend it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on

Just a perfect day
problems all left alone
Weekenders on our own
it's such fun

Just a perfect day
you made me forget myself
I thought I was
someone else, someone good

Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spent it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on

You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow

(Lyrics from http://www.lyricsfreak.com/ )

Read more about Lou Reed and his musical influence here:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/10/27/240841092/what-lou-reed-taught-me

IELTS Official on Facebook Live Chat: Ask the Experts about the Listening Test

Have you found IELTS Official on Facebook yet? If not, I recommend doing so right now! Go to https://www.facebook.com/IELTSOfficial and be sure to "like" the page so you'll receive their posts in your Facebook news feed.

Today, IELTS Official will host another ‘Ask the Experts’ live chat session on their Facebook page. It's on Monday 09 Sept at 13.30-14.30 BST. You will have the opportunity to ask IELTS experts your questions about the Listening test.

To find out the time of the session where you are: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ .

If you missed today's "Ask the Experts", never mind. Just be sure to stay tuned for the next one!

How can you best prepare for the IELTS test?

As most of you will know, there's a huge amount of misinformation about IELTS online.

Take care not to waste your time looking at silly "tips" on unreliable websites.

To prepare for the IELTS test you must:

1. Familiarise yourself with information about the test from the official sources:

http://www.ielts.org/

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-qualifications/ielts/how-to-prepare/

Also:

http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/

http://www.ieltspractice.com/

http://www.idp.com/ielts.aspx

http://www.els.edu/en/DiscoverELS/IELTS

2. Continue to work on building your English language skills daily (reading, writing, listening and speaking)

3. Practise the test. Some feedback on your speaking and writing from an experienced IELTS teacher may be helpful but is not absolutely necessary.

4. Join an IELTS class locally or online if needed.

That's it!

If you have questions, feel free to ask :).

English Language Learning Tips - Listening Test Skills

Here are some great tips for your listening test from Cambridge English Language Assessment:

http://www.youtube.com/user/cambridgeenglishtv?feature=watch

Which tip did you find most useful?

Learn about the world while improving your English: United Nations Radio

Here's a great resource for improving your English skills as you learn about the world:

http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/

"UN Radio has a daily 10 minute programme, with a news bulletin and two features, which is uploaded onto our website and iTunes at around 1800 GMT on Monday to Friday. We also have three regional magazine programmes; UN and Africa, UN calling Asia and Women as well as Caribbean News Report individual stories specifically for the Caribbean region. The programmes are all 10 minutes long and can be downloaded as stand-alone programmes for rebroadcast.

Is there a fee to use UN Radio material?
No, we never charge for our content; it is always free.

How can I access the content?
All our content is accessible online. It can be downloaded free of charge after registering."

Listening daily to good models of English is very important to the development of your spoken language. It's also essential to keep up to date with world affairs in order to be able to hold a discussion in the IELTS Speaking test and support your views in the Writing test, Part 2 (essay).

Top Five Free English Language Learning Websites

Trying to bring your English language skills to the next level? Check out the top five free websites recommended by OpenLanguage:

"Top 5 - English Language Learning Websites

There are thousands of free English resources online; some can be extremely valuable tools but it can be difficult to sort through all of the material out there to find the gems. The resources we have listed below will help you improve your speaking, listening, reading and writing."

Go to http://blog.openlanguage.com/2013/05/27/top-5-english-language-learning-websites/

***Note: the link to the VOA (Voice of America) website seems to be broken. It should be http://learningenglish.voanews.com/ .
.

Valentine's Day: Short Video plus Quiz with Answers

Valentine's Day is celebrated in different ways by different cultures.

Ready to learn about Valentine's Day around the world while testing your listening skills?

Watch the short video: Celebrating Valentine’s Day around the world (1.54 minutes) at http://www.examiner.com/article/celebrating-valentine-s-day-around-the-world .

Decide if the statements below are True (T) or False (F). Write down your answers.

Watch the video again, if needed.

Check with the Answer Key below.

True/False

1. On Valentine’s Day (February 14th), boys in Korea give candy.
2. In Denmark, it is traditional to send snowdrop flowers to your friends and lover on Valentine’s Day.
3. In China, visit the Temple of Matchmaker on Valentine’s Day.
4. In Spain, wives send beautiful bouquets of roses to their husbands.
5. Chocolate is the most popular Valentine’s gift in Japan.
6. In Australia, over 19 % of people aged between 18 and 24 celebrate Valentine’s Day.
7. The world’s first printed Valentine’s Day card is on display at the British Museum in London.

Answers:

1. F (only girls give candy on February 14th in Korea)
2. T
3. T
4. F (husbands send roses to their wives)
5. T
6. F (over 90%)
7. T

How many corerct answers did you have?

You can find out more about Valentine's Day by reading the article at:http://www.examiner.com/article/celebrating-valentine-s-day-around-the-world .

Excellent English Language Listening Resources from The Guardian

Here's another link to add to your list of favourites for listening practice:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/audio

(If you're not familiar with "The Guardian", it's a very highly regarded UK news publication).

At http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/series/the-guardian-audio-edition you'll find the best of the Guardian's journalism in an easy to digest weekly podcast.

You'll also find podcasts on a range of interesting specialist topics from science, technology and books to music, football and more.

Have fun and expand your mind while improving your English!

The Impact of Climate Change on Australia

The ABC has produced an excellent five-part series on the expected impact of climate change on different parts of Australia.

The first topic in the series is rising seas: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-14/how-will-rising-seas-impact-australia/4460688

The next topics are:

Part 2: What effect will climate change have on agriculture and food production? http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-15/climate-change-will-force-farmers-to-adapt-csiro-says/4464506

Part 3: What effect will climate change have on health in the Pacific? http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-16/humans-to-feel-heat-of-warmer-future/4466276

Part 4: How will climate change affect biodiversity and ecosystems? http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-17/global-warming-to-threaten-australian-wildlife/4468026

Part 5: How will climate change affect Australia's oceans and reefs? http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-18/warming-to-put-oceans-and-reefs-in-hot-water/4470104

Following the series is highly recommended for learning about the important issue of climate change and the language needed for spoken or written discussion of this very "hot" (!!) topic.

Free Tool: Make a Website "Speak"

"Select & Speak" is a free extension for Google Chrome. You can select text on a website and the tool will convert it to speech.

There's a choice of 43 different voices and accents and you can change the speed of the speaking.

Give it a try!

Hope in a Changing Climate: Video with Text

Watch this ten minute documentary which offers hope for restoration of severely damaged ecosystems:

http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/ou-on-the-bbc-hope-changing-climate

"Success stories from Ethiopia, Rwanda and China prove that bringing large areas back from environmental ruin is possible, and the results are key to stabilising the earth’s climate, eradicating poverty and making sustainable agriculture a reality."

You'll find many more great resources on topics of current interest at the Open University site:

http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on

Stories From Around The World: Listen and Read

"Sacred Stories" is a wonderful site from the British Library featuring beautifully illustrated stories from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. Go to:

http://bit.ly/ROmhQh

Watch and listen or read with subtitles.

There are many more treasures to explore at the British Library website's "Learning" section. The main page is at:

http://www.bl.uk/learning/

Enjoy!

Video: The Future of Lying - Listening Exercise with Answers

Listen to the talk on “The Future of Lying” by Jeff Hancock at http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_hancock_3_types_of_digital_lies.html and then answer the questions below.

You may need to listen more than once. The first time, you should listen to the whole talk to get the main ideas. Making some notes while you listen may help you focus. When you listen again, use the pause and transcript buttons to catch details if needed.


Questions

1. About how many times per day do people lie?

2. Is the internet making us more deceptive?

3. Why do we lie less when we write?

---

Vocabulary

To lie/to tell a lie – to tell an untruth; a liar (n.) – a person who lies

A fib – a small lie

A white lie – a less serious lie, often told to protect another person from feeling bad

To tell the truth/to be truthful - to be honest; truth (n.), truthful (adj.)

To deceive – to be dishonest; deception (n.), deceit (n.), deceitful (adj.)
__


Answers

1. We all lie once or twice a day.

2. No. (New means of communication have only changed the ways in which we lie. We tell most lies on the phone. We’re more honest online than face to face).

3. With writing, we leave a record (unlike speaking, where there’s no record of what we say).


***On a scale of 1 to 10, how difficult did you find this exercise? It's not an easy one -- this is a native speaker, speaking quickly on a complex topic. Hope you could catch some of his main points!

How Sleep Makes Us Smarter and Healthier - Listening Exercise with Answers

PBS NEWSHOUR is a great source of clear, informative videos on a diversity of topics. You'll also find an option to "turn on captions" to help you understand if needed.

For a video you may enjoy on an activity we all love -- sleep!-- go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye2_2osVCJQ .

Watch the ten-minute video once or twice and answer these two questions:

1. What is the main benefit of sleep discussed in the video?

2. What are the main physical problems associated with lack of sleep?

Then compare with my answers below.

If you missed any key points, listen once again to check.


Vocabulary:

"to reboot" - to restart (like a computer)

---

1.

Thinking over a problem (or "rebooting the brain") during sleep/dreaming makes us more effective at problem-solving.

2.

Produce fewer antibodies
Process food less efficiently
Increased hunger
Increased signs of being pre-diabetic
Weight gain
Cardiovascular problems

Using Online Resources to Improve Your English

If you followed the link in my previous blog entry and listened to Stephen Krashen speaking about how we learn foreign languages ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXJwGFpfCY8&feature=related ), you'll know that interesting, understandable input in the second language is key!

In other words, find interesting material to read, listen to, or watch in the second language. Video material is great because it helps make the "input" understandable.

Here's a link to 39 free video lectures on "The History of Western Architecture", taught by Jacqueline Gargus at Ohio State University (USA): http://www.openculture.com/2012/11/the_history_of_western_architecture_in_39_free_lectures_.html .

Not interested in architecture? No problem! There are countless excellent, free resources now available on the internet. Just search for material on your topics of interest. (YouTube can be a good place to start looking, if you can access it. If not, just search elsewhere -- searching online in English is great language practice, too.)

Happy learning!

Ways To Improve Your English

Ways To Improve Your English

Listening

• Follow TV and radio news in both your native language and in English. Understanding the ideas in your native language first will help you understand the English.
• Listen to songs in English.
• Watch films in English with English subtitles.
• Practice communicating with your friends in English.

Speaking

• Learn the words to English songs and sing.
• Practice with English cassettes, CDs or internet sites.
• Read aloud (articles, stories, dialogues, film scripts).
• Watch English films and read the dialogue aloud from the subtitles.
• Talk to yourself in English.
• Talk to your friends in English.
• Make an “interest group” with friends/colleagues/classmates to speak in English while you do something you enjoy together (singing, eating, exercise, playing cards…).

Reading

• Read about topics that interest you in English (e.g. sports, fashion, business…) in newspapers, library books or on the internet.
• Follow the news in both your native language and in English. Understanding the ideas in your native language first will help you understand the English.
• Read simple, modern short stories and novels in English.
• Read letters and emails from your friends in English.

Writing

• Keep a diary in English. Just write freely about whatever you like. This helps you “think in English” more easily.
• Email or write notes to your friends in English.
• Write a song or a poem.
• Write the story of your life: past, present and future.
• Join an internet e-group and communicate with people who share your interests from all over the world.
• Chat in English on the internet with people from other countries.

Inspirational Technology

There's no question that new technologies can transform lives.

Here's a truly inspiring example of an iPhone application a father, with the help of his students, developed in order to communicate with his disabled son:

http://nbclatino.com/2012/09/18/innovator-paul-pauca-creates-communication-app-to-help-his-son/

Have you ever had the opportunity to help another person in a significant way?

Do you know of other cases in which technology has brought profound changes to a person's life?

Would you agree that sometimes "necessity is the mother of invention"?