Need help with spelling?

How's your English spelling?

Check http://www.ugru.uaeu.ac.ae/spelling/ielts/ielts.htm if you could use some help!

New Facebook Page for IELTS Preparation

You can find the new IELTS_Live page on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/pages/IELTS_Live/459147834166466

Click "like" to follow the page and opt to receive notifications if you would like updates to appear in your Facebook newsfeed.

How to Learn a Language or Succeed in IELTS ~ the ultimate top tip

You'll find no better advice than this on how to learn a language or succeed in IELTS.



"How to Get There" by Australia's Michael Leunig

Of course, it's great advice for life in general, too :).

Virtual Job Interview in English

Just the thought of a job interview will cause a rush of adrenaline in many people. Interviews are even more stressful if you're not using your first language. We can overcome stress and build confidence through preparation and practice.

Here's a link to an interactive, virtual job interview in English to help you practise answering some common job interview questions:

http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/virtual-job-interview.html



Good luck!

Interactive Map of North American English Dialects Based on Pronunciation

This is really fascinating!

http://laughingsquid.com/interactive-map-of-north-american-english-dialects/


"In his free time, linguist Rick Aschmann collected a treasure trove of information on the English dialects of North America on his website, North American English Dialects, Based on Pronunciation Patterns. The centerpiece of the site is a hugely detailed interactive dialect map of North America. The map is linked to a huge collection of audio samples of local dialects."

10 foods to boost your brainpower before a test

My mother, a nurse, always prepared healthy meals for the family and also believed that specific foods could help improve brain performance. She would feed my brother and me steak or fish the night before our exams started. She called these "brain food". Both are high protein foods; good for strength and stamina.

Do you believe that eating certain foods before an important test or other mental challenge can increase your brainpower? Which foods are they?

Here are ten suggestions from the BBC:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/wellbeing/features/boost-brainpower/1/


Are any of the ten foods on the list the same as the foods you would recommend?

Good luck with all your tests and challenges!

IELTS Academic Writing Course from the British Council

Excellent!

Check out the British Council's IELTS Academic Writing Course:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/professionals-exams-ielts-academic-1-a.htm

English Verb Machine

Make any English tense or verb form using just four buttons.

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/word-games/verb-machine

Have a try!

Which is your preferred learning style?

It may be more than one, or you may use all of these styles in different situations.

Which style or styles do you prefer when learning language?

Understanding the IELTS Speaking Test

Here's a very good short article about the IELTS Speaking test: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/evaluating-speaking-ielts-speaking-test
.

The article is intended for teachers of English but it's not too difficult for learners of English to understand. I recommend reading it if you're preparing to take the IELTS test.

Have fun practising spoken English with videos

Here's a reminder about a very useful website for practising your spoken English.

In particular, the activities on this site will help you produce the distinctive rhythms, stress and intonation patterns of English that native speakers use. These special features of English pronunciation are essential if you wish to do more than just communicate at a basic level in English. You'll also find that understanding these features better will help in improving your listening skills.

Go to http://www.englishcentral.com/videos#!/index and look around.

I think you'll agree that practising with the videos is both entertaining and helpful.

Practise your English with other learners

My students often tell me that they lack opportunities to speak English with others.

I understand this difficulty but let's not ignore the many opportunities modern technology provides. It's now extremely easy to meet other interesting and intelligent people online who also wish to spend time practising English.

(By the way, don't think that only practice with native English speakers matters. Research has shown that interaction with other learners is a very important step in the development of proficiency in a second language.)

If you'd like me to connect you with other learners, send an email to teacher@englishteachinglive.com .

____

Groups you can join:

ESIP

“This group aims to improve your English Speaking Skill, by talking on Skype every night at 23:00 Japanese time (Standard time zone: UTC/GMT +9 hours).

Whenever you want to speak English, or improve your English skills, you can join us.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/386014941444680/

____

I'd be happy to share information about other groups for English learners. Just drop me a message if you'd like to recommend one.

Useful Resources for Improving Pronunciation

There are many excellent free resources online for help with pronunciation. Here are some you may like to try:

http://www.learnerstv.com/Free-Language-Video-lectures-ltv200-Page1.htm (series of 15 videos on sounds, stress patterns and intonation)

http://www.englishcentral.com/videos#!/index (choose a video, listen, record yourself speaking and get feedback; useful, detailed description at http://ddeubel.edublogs.org/2009/10/08/english-central-bringing-voice-and-output-to-learning-english/ )

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/ (the sounds of English and important features of pronunciation, with quizzes)

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html (the sounds of American English)

http://www.howjsay.com/ (online English talking dictionary of pronunciation)

http://www.onestopenglish.com/skills/pronunciation/phonemic-chart-and-app/interactive-phonemic-chart/(interactive chart of English sounds)

Your comments and suggestions are welcomed, as always.