Psychometric verbal reasoning tests...brilliant for your English and good training if you re looking for a job.

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/tests/verbaltest.htm

They say nothing s for free these days...
http://www.youtube.com/user/duncaninchina
http://www.youtube.com/user/rachelsenglish
http://www.youtube.com/user/ENGLISHCLASS101
http://www.youtube.com/user/JamesESL
http://www.youtube.com/user/bbclearningenglish?feature=watch

 Body idiom vids!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Ygbm2GuHk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWfHZkrA_Zg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taGtKw_Pv00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdJ21f4-zpw

Amy Winehouse's stuff dissected!!!If you can´t quite understand what your favourite artists are on about, this might prove useful.


http://rapgenius.com/Amy-winehouse-intro-stronger-than-me-lyrics

Three websites packed with listening comprehension excercises. Real English is also great if you want to practice your pronunciation or work on your fluency.

Mansión del inglés

http://www.mansioningles.com/listening00.htm

Real English

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Kqug55Si0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JA1y2Q7ZEQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6wZ26a3oXw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ocKRq323sk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ9ffd8C1JU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL3CFtW8WE0

Randall's cyber listening lab

http://www.esl-lab.com/

Some audiobooks to read out loud.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P72AD8ktEq4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSZ3wtqBpTE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbE4NXHoTLI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwHs2mPoVfQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHpriA3E5vg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INO1XRZLYh8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9WYQmbmLeQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_6aaH2gtIg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGpfu-KpuLw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wExK37zBmX8

Here's the role reversal vid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b5Ld2j3VQY

Five great sites to explore and keep your independent learning on point!
http://film-english.com/
http://allatc.wordpress.com/
http://designerlessons.org/
http://lessonstream.org/
http://www.youtube.com/user/bbclearningenglish?feature=watch

More on essays...I'll rave endlessly about this webpage for months on end!
http://www.educator.com/language/english/application-essays/hendershot/writing-part-one_-the-beginning.php
http://www.educator.com/language/english/application-essays/hendershot/writing-part-two_-the-middle-+-end.php

I  JUST CAN'T BELIEVE ALL THIS STUFF IS FOR FREE!!!!!!
http://www.educator.com/language/english/ap-english-language-composition/hendershot/introduction.php?ss=731
http://www.educator.com/chemistry/biochemistry/hovasapian/
http://www.educator.com/computer-science/wordpress/strine/
http://www.educator.com/computer-science/html/strine/
http://www.educator.com/mathematics/basic-math/pyo/
http://www.educator.com/music-theory/garage-band/spinella/
http://www.educator.com/physics/high-school-physics/selhorst-jones/
http://www.educator.com/music-theory/ap-music-theory/shahab/

Opinion essays vs. for and against essays; juicy explanations, sweet exercises to practise your linkers and a  list of common mistakes whose awkwardly bitter flavours nobody will want to taste.To top it all with, a delectable vid on how to write essays that will add a refreshingly crunchy new twist to your argumentative meals. Bon appetit!

http://academicwriting.wikidot.com/opinion-essays
http://academicwriting.wikidot.com/exercises
http://academicwriting.wikidot.com/for-and-against-essays
http://academicwriting.wikidot.com/practical-exercises-on-the-use-of-linking-words-and-phrases
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liyFKUFCQno
http://academicwriting.wikidot.com/common-essay-mistakes

More GRANTA stuff.

vids
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65mtLCbODCk&list=UU-QBOHsJwH6kjI6QcrGvv3w&index=1

podcasts
https://soundcloud.com/ted-hodgkinson-granta

A New generation of young British writers. You now speak their language. Are you going to miss what they have to offer?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8E7HLUaRF4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49e7JomuB2I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPmyJWOYLms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65mtLCbODCk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM1WwfARBPU

Useful language for discussions and debates.

http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/agreeing-disagreeing-expressions.htm

Short BBC clips of a variety of topics.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121012-the-city-of-the-future
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130402-a-self-employed-world
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130312-liquid-heart-of-south-america
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130205-sahara-life-giving-sands
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130402-typewriter-is-ipod-of-its-day
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130328-news-2050-hypersonic-take-off

wicked vocab resource!
http://www.wordnik.com/

 Sample letters of complaint and some tips on how to go about writing them!


http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/letters-of-complaint
http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/eiw/complaint_letter_constructor.htm#Warning
http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/odo/practical%20writing/disappointing%20holiday.pdf
http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/odo/practical%20writing/leaking%20radiator.pdf
http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/odo/practical%20writing/faulty%20product.pdf
http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.com/pdf/odo/practical%20writing/unsatisfactory%20workmanship.pdf

 CITY GUIDES!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/series/amsterdam-city-guide
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/series/barcelona-city-guide
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/series/istanbul-city-guide
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/series/tokyo-city-guide

 Fill-the-blanks listening practice. The internet is awash with listening tests. Have a look round!

 http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening2.htm
http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/listening.php
http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening4.htm
http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening3.htm
http://www.examenglish.com/CAE/cae_listening1.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/expense/expensefra.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/trouble/troublefra.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/drive/drivefra.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/home/homefra.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/cm1/cm1wd.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/market/marketfra.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/taxi1/taxifra.htm

This is a fun series for beginners! Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAi1JlMIQVM

Where can i find sky-is-the-limit vocab ?
http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksDirector

What are you into?

Is it cooking, kitting, playing guitar, yoga, boulder climbing, origami, leaning chinese, fiction writing...?
WHAT IS IT?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFvOwf9IByc&list=PL688B13824DC61470&index=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6DvkrxjI6o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml-rxMwcaf0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_EkJ5nNCkA&playnext=1&list=PL25F7965C70285333&feature=results_main
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_l7QHxSwms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf5Esemp2f4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyQ1wEBx1V0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-hEdVboS6o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSijU52XJ7w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uw-nUvGrBY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Ehn3tnqpk

Inspiring ideas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6EOGDnUgS4

Exemplify!!!

I had already hinted that this webpage is MUST when it comes to illustrating the use of a given set phrase or chunk of language.
http://www.linguee.com/english-spanish/search?source=auto&query=+unacquainted+with
http://www.linguee.com/english-spanish/search?source=auto&query=vent+my+frustration
http://www.linguee.com/english-spanish/search?source=auto&query=+concede+that

 Some great discussion and debate links you can fantastic tips from...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtLd6AKiTfs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM7ypUb62Hc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyhozMqvq1ghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrcJOitz-d4

Interesting show on immigration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HshRtCDsF7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc_Gc4bfnEg

miscellaneous samples of journalistic English

Articles, reviews, human interest stories and video interviews (if you're interested in photography make sure you check out the last link. you might get a few useful tips!)

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2013/01/the-season-two-premiere-of-girls-lena-vs-hannah.html

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2013/02/dvd-of-the-week-the-elephant-man.html

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/egypt/#slide_ss_0=1

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/12/jeffrey-toobin-second-amendment.html

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/everybody-street/

communal writing

The woman yawned. A long lazy noise came right out of her and was gone. It was an unearthly sound. She felt extremely tired after a bad night's sleep. Nightmares had plagued her since her early childhood but their vividness had increased of late. They had  become virtually indistinguishable from reality.

Nadia tentatively felt the other side of her bed with the back of her hand in vain. Her husband was gone.

communal writing

he remembered having once reflected upon the possibility of humans living like humans. there might have been a chance. some tribes had once truly believed in a pre-existing being, incomparable to anything real. this sole idea had made it possible to act humanely. they had feared the consequences of their injustices even if they were all essentially forgetful beings. some had lived hoping for an afterlife. a few believed their lives were gifts and followed a path set by their tenacious wills to be decent people.

an originator of duality and contradiction, possibility and opposition? modern notions of history and science didn t seem to allow for such an entity.

the fleeting idea of a being setting everything in motion or even surveying the unfolding of events in the universe was made more approachable by the existence of messengers; some were charlatans, others were unveilers.

our boy, though, was of a third kind. No categories really applied to him.

To err is human...lyrics is plural!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyrics
http://www.wordreference.com/definition/lyrics

Some miscellaneous comments and reviews taken from the amazon, youtube and vimeo.
http://www.amazon.com/Stronger-Than-Me-Amy-Winehouse/dp/B0000DD9AV
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Macy-Gray/dp/B000N8UYBO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CYE0DYIbaw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limit_to_Your_Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwTU9CY0gLE
http://vimeo.com/15624524

 Three clips from a very juicy documentary

The English people are systematically taught is not the english most UK natives speak
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEsI2t-mvZk

English as the language of the Empire and Lingua franca
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzt2p1jRiro

Dated slang and slang that made it into the 21st century
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qub-s7e55k


 Naughty mockumentary on the history of the English language
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rexKqvgPVuA

What we did with inside job one can do with...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0PQAtko8Cc
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ommovies/contenidotematico.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEsI2t-mvZk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgljsnHknF4

Explore the amazing vintagey world of audioslides!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/audioslideshow/2012/nov/26/brief-history-of-global-capitalism-leo-panitch
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/audioslideshow/2012/oct/10/homelessness-mario-story-audio-slideshow

More juicy critical reviews

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNgfaYmzZbA&list=ELBijyEGVUMqc

Film and music reviews.

Written reviews.
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/nov/28/guardian-best-albums-2012-20-11
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jun/03/angels-share-ken-loach-review

Podcast reviews.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/audio/2012/nov/29/popandrock-jessie-ware

Video reviews.
http://betchabottmdolla.blogspot.com.es/2012_04_01_archive.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/film+content/video
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2012/nov/30/the-hunt-video-review

Picture reviews?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/gallery/2012/dec/01/10-best-screen-adaptations-pictures

A few interesting webpages to keep you busy for the duration of your nine English speaking lives


BERKLEE (musical life)
http://www.berklee.edu/video
THE MOTH (real life stories)
 http://themoth.org/
OPEN CULTURE (audiobooks life)
http://www.openculture.com/2012/10
YALE(psycological life, post-colonial life, popular science )
http://www.youtube.com/user/YaleUniversity#g/c/003CE0429CAE4E19 ()
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwsj9AZnaaE&feature=edu&list=PLACAA5E35D77BA4B0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq6u4RFf7ck&list=EC27FAF837577D180A&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAQN6EPU7hc&feature=edu&list=PLACAA5E35D77BA4B0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmKWhPbYwaE&feature=edu&list=PLACAA5E35D77BA4B0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyGEMsmcm54
HARVARD (quantum life)
http://athome.harvard.edu/programs/jmr/#
http://athome.harvard.edu/programs/sst/
http://athome.harvard.edu/programs/sst/video/sst1_5.html
http://athome.harvard.edu/programs/sst/video/sst1_3.html
DEF POETRY JAM (poetic life)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuH-ZMrlie0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuAbGJBvIVY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Xu0LW7ilo
STAND UP (not exactly PC fundamentalist humorous life)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ktBQ51iGWw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACA0OBB9Qc4&playnext=1&list=PL3F3F2DBBC3010312

Very interesting videos to work on conjunctions linking words and syntax in general.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSU2hZXhr8U&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Reec7NtvY&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoUCYCaoHno&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El-Gr22YUCQ&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZRVaVJMWAk&feature=relmfu

Brilliant vocab videos! Try to repeat the definitions and examples along with the reader.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb3AsHQy0rw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-19j66HoWJE&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KltDgdNf2sU&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuGUs6Z1oQQ&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eVOhw3FTFw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y-DW3BzHW8&feature=relmfu


Same thing minus a proper voice plus helpful visual input and synonyms!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbNjrKaabFI&feature=related

Amazing photo description opportunities galore!
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/gallery/2012-world-press-photo
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/photo/2012-ilvy-njiokiktjien-ci-2?gallery=2634
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/photo/2012-paolo-woods-dl-3?gallery=2634&photographer=2976
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/photo/2012-john-moore-pns2-aj?gallery=2634
http://www.worldpressphoto.org/photo/2012-emiliano-larizza-aes2-ll?gallery=2634

LOST HOMEWORK VIDEOS!

For some reason I decided it was a good idea to delete the vids i told you to watch this weekend. Silly me! Here they are, though! Watch them and jot down as much useful vocab as you can. There are piles of brilliant adjectives, descriptive vocab, fillers, etc. Next week you'll be describing your own photo so make sure you prepare for it. NO READING, NO LEARNING BY HEART, THOUGH!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cILpO4oesXI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC8I180SL9M&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfkBUsT_lC4&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UNetMeE4SM&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRccmsqTqDE&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duyvgIhWQzU&feature=relmfu

 SARAH KAY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0snNB1yS3IE&list=PLDFBC4DBF7976778A&index=2&feature=plpp_video

What's on the menu today?

For starters, you can give your eyes and ears a bit of our exotic vocab salad. here's a brilliant couple of vids brimming with descriptive words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY1oFuh_AeQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCC1YCgB9Jo&feature=edu&list=PL82CAF3F170641910


Our main course today is...




surprise surprise...











more marinated body idioms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJqCMZiZDn0&feature=edu&list=PL82CAF3F170641910
Alternatively you can revel on this vid which features all you need to know to describe charts,  trends and so on, to wit: juicy verb adverb collocations, exotic-tasting verbs, heavily spiced phrasal verbs, and a few alternative recipes and an over-enunciating teacher-chef!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1uAImH4GwA&feature=relmfu
To top it all up, here's a clip you can use to practise describing urban landscapes.
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=36314216#editor/target=post;postID=5409618596162573237

OOZY Juicy webs if you're after a good old list of examples for words, idioms, collocations, phrasal verbs, set phrases, etc.

blink/ in the blink of an eye
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=blink
http://www.wordnik.com/words/blink
blush
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=blush
http://www.wordnik.com/words/blush
 frown/ frown lines
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=blush
grit one's teeth
 http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=grit+one%27s+teeth
 http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=grit+her+teeth
keep your ear to the ground
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=+keep+your+ear+to+the+ground
lose face
http://www.linguee.es/espanol-ingles/search?source=auto&query=lose+face
http://www.wordnik.com/words/lose%20face

A1 fun for this week! Verbs with he Pink Panther and another Real English vid.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NfyXBL8YAk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmeXwJxWJLg&feature=relmfu

the homework vid about body language you're supposed to be working on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV1cMmCKxmY

a bit more on discussion language, turn-taking, agreeing and disagreeing, debates and so on.


http://www.englishpond.com/speaking/Communication%20and%20daily%20English/turntaking/index.html
http://www.englishpond.com/speaking/Communication%20and%20daily%20English/agreeingaudio/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Schools_Debating_Championships
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_1-YCbVip4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh34Xsq7D_A&feature=related


let's get stupidly serious...
http://www.psy.herts.ac.uk/pub/SJCowley/docs/timing.pdf
http://anthro.ucsd.edu/~jhaviland/AudVid/AudVidReadings/Simplest_Systematics_for_Turn-Taking_%28Language%29.pdf
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/encap/research/networks/flarn/whatis/index.html

...on the practically unfathomable difference between organized and well-organized people...

http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic12326.html
http://petenut99.tripod.com/transferableskills/id3.html

a whole lot of audiobooks...promises are made not to be broken, someone said
http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks
http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/books/

a few of this bigthink series. let's see what you make out of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTl_xjOyZsc&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWRumo75pgc&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGedFY6UHLo&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8SOQEitsJI&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByJBdQXjXU&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbvDYyoAv9k&feature=relmfu

These videos are a really useful tool. They can be of great help in your quest to improve your  English. Here's only a few. There are more than 100!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWHhpb8NWcI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve981fbBY0g&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAJ2ffma91Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=886hLlkwipI&feature=relmfu

T I M E L E S S ! ! !

Rives

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFS-er6oZ30

Def Poetry Jam

 amazing artists galore.
                   tons of food for thought.
            sublime lines
if you see but a couple
         you'll surely want more.

 Lauryn Hill
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkSObnpCimA&feature=relmfu


Alicia keys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkSObnpCimA&feature=related
POW by Alicia Keys(transcript)
http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Alicia-Keys/P-o-w.html

Translation exercise. Use the english words to help you translate this interview outline

Los comienzos.

¿Qué razones te impulsaron a dar el paso de vivir en el extranjero?  make/want to go

¿Tardaste mucho en tomar la decisión? take/decide

¿Por qué dudaste si era buena idea marcharte?  hesitant

¿tenias amigos o contactos antes de ir? friend/penpals/acquanintances

¿Conociste gente rápido? make friends

Diferencias y estereotipos.

¿Hubo algo que te hiciera sentir como un marciano al principio de tu estancia? alien

¿Hubo algo que te hiciera sentir que la gente que te rodeaba eran marcianos? people around

¿Puedes hablarnos un poco de los estereotipos, prejuicios y mitos sobre la gente de allí? stereotypes, prejudices

¿Qué hay de verdad? would you say...

Aprendizaje y evolución.

¿Qué te ha aportado como persona tu experiencia en el extranjero?contributed personal growth

¿Has cambiado mucho? change

¿Crees que cualquiera que este aprendiendo un idioma debería ir a vivir a un país en que se habla ese idioma como primera lengua? a must

¿Qué diferencia hay entre aprender en una clase de idiomas y vivir el idioma? learning in a classroom/ immersion

¿Sigues aprendiendo el idioma ahora que has vuelto? still practise

¿Han cambiado tus estrategias y técnicas de aprendizaje? change/approach/learning

Reflexiones

Eres tantas personas como lenguas conoces. as the languages you speak

Si no has convivido con ellos, no tienes opiniones. Tienes prejuicios. hang out with them.

La amistad y el amor pueden ser universales pero la forma de entenderlos no lo es. love and friendship

Vivir y trabajar por un tiempo más allá de los límites físicos de nuestra rutina nos cambia. fundamentally change who we are...

REVISIÓN

Mis alumnos de 1ºA y 1ºH podrán ver sus examenes el día 25 de junio a las 20:00 en el aula 210.

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/audioslideshow/2012/may/11/new-review-month-in-photography
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audioslideshow/2012/mar/29/molly-crabapple-new-york-interactive

Practice your speaking skills using these brill photos:
A. Think of show-off collocations and shiny syntax you can use to deal with the picture.
B. Write a ticklist
C. Practise describing the picture out loud.
D.Tick off items from your list as you go.
E. Then try again and record yourself
F. Listen back.
G. Repeat steps C to F after including any new lexical or syntactic niceties that may have popped to mind. Make sure you pay attention to words you might have mispronounced in the first recording.


Whatever you do, PRACTISE OUT LOUD!

Funny little comic strip audio slide
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/audioslideshow/2012/may/11/alans-records-audio-slideshow
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/mar/25/please-god-simone-lia-review?intcmp=239

 Listening pratice.
http://www.examenglish.com/KET/KET_listening_part2.htm

These videos can make for a few hours of film review oral practice. Use them!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxwYypFgOrI&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74jLrSWgIgo&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rm4UnC29BI&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS-8Q7QIk1I&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS-8Q7QIk1I&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njLcOqW7xV0&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3u6LVHlGTk&feature=relmfu
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAQSa0963T8&feature=relmfu
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAQSa0963T8&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl0AWjXzBk0&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozzmG0I3xpk&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwBpFuRe7t8&feature=relmfu

Sound clip webpage. I guess they must have recently started to put it together since there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of sound clips, at least not in the homepage. Some of clips are quite cool, though. Take your pic and parrot!

http://www.hark.com/clips/ymqpgplfjj-fraggle-rock-theme
http://www.hark.com/clips/dfdrvxmjlp-im-popeye-the-sailor-man
http://www.hark.com/clips/nptnvzqhqs-you-wanna-hear-how-mommy-and-me-met
http://www.hark.com/clips/nwvjmbrdlh-the-ballot-or-the-bullet-part-5
http://www.hark.com/clips/qlhtwfdbvv-im-a-bouncer-in-a-titty-bar-bill
http://www.hark.com/clips/xlvpllwqhk-check-out-the-big-brain-on-brett
http://www.hark.com/clips/qbbklcwyvw-funny
http://www.hark.com/clips/lqdgmjkyss-i-fantasize-about-massive-pristine-convenience
http://www.hark.com/clips/jcpdqjknwh-im-sorry-for-being-such-a-bastard
http://www.hark.com/clips/rnglhbdbth-he-contacts-you-through-a-fuckin-bird
http://www.hark.com/clips/znmnfyktwt-just-another-fat-fuck-walkin-out-of-the-casino-with-a-suitcase
http://www.hark.com/clips/nxbwpnpkky-or-are-you-going-to-bite

food for thought

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDycZH0CA4I&feature=relmfu

Mr Auster interviewed by GRANTA magazine USA editor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuEpBEPTxUU

British writer Will Self reflects on our sad sad parallel cyberspace selves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqDoBqeV6Lc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eLiW6iPGjE&feature=relmfu

Accent tags have flooded youtube for quite some time now. These videos are interesting in that you get samples of real English accents. The last vid is a freestyle impro. the girl takes on oldshool trini accent. It's a right laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juFxMpqquzk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEP6SmZx2y0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE1wZyxoVpE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93aM7mSmodM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_OTYzkpc5w&feature=related
http:/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXn5S3n6QIE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDWcXKPRELg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSGGUI6eV1s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfO8F6Uz_qM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SssJOlJrq7g&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXguVx8qbNo&feature=related

For extra science vocabulary and real-deal listening practice...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/series/science

Should you have any doubts related to the field of law, here's an excellent specialized dictionary.

http://blackslawdictionary.org/

Another of the Guardian's treasures waiting to be discovered is its city walks podcast. You can download the audio files for free!!!

Author Ian Rankin takes you around Edimburgh!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/audio/2007/jan/10/cityguides885

Dickens's London audio tour. There's a map to go with it!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2011/nov/24/dickens-audio-tour-david-copperfield
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2011/09/22/dickens_walk.pdf

Poet Roger McGough's vision of his hometown.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/audio/2006/nov/27/cityguides880

Steve Bell's Brighton
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/audio/2006/dec/21/cityguides882

I'm still tripping about stuff I found last weekend on the Guardian's web. Well, this new discovery certainly does not fall short of the others...In the wonderful section of interactives, there's this brilliant city guides series . They only cover a few cities, though. Take your pick and plan a dream trip!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/city-guides

Other interactives worth checking out:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/interactive/2012/feb/05/what-being-british-mean-interactive
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2012/jan/27/how-european-are-you-quiz
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/feb/05/chastleton-house-cotswolds-panoramic-architecture
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2012/jan/25/europe-migration-eu-interactive

The Guardian's webpage may prove to be a great tool to learn English. I've included a couple of video interview links about music and a few other engrossing videos on a variety of topics.


video interviews (music)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2012/jan/05/al-spx-cold-specks-video
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jan/04/youssou-n-dour-president-senegal-video

videos (miscelaneous)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/dec/26/errol-morris-photography-video?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3486
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2012/jan/23/paul-mason-revolts-capitalist-realism-video
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jan/23/cell36-aljalame-prison-israel-solitary-confinement-palestinian-children?INTCMP=SRCH
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/video/2011/sep/07/amnesty-tv-write-book-behind-bars-video?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3486

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2008/aug/06/albert.maysles?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3486

Check out these audioslides. They make brilliant listening and speaking practice material.

audio slides (miscelaneous)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/slideshow/page/0,,2044805,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audioslideshow/2012/jan/16/gil-scott-heron-holiday-martin-luther-king-day
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/audioslideshow/2011/nov/24/photographs-beseiged-syrian-homs
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/interactive/2011/apr/14/south-africa-photography-audio-slideshow
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/interactive/2011/nov/24/cyra-a-teenage-life-in-care-audio-slideshow
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/audioslideshow/2011/sep/22/faisal-barbers-harlesden-london-audio-slideshow

Here's the TIME magazine vid we didn't have time to check out the other day in class. I'm posting a few other vids you should have a look at.

music
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,1313231133001_2101708,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,21552990001_1894785,00.html

cinema
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,795293566001_2052703,00.html

music and vid and tv and all that
http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,86967646001_1990937,00.html

Have you thought about teaching yourself English? If you're into taking a more active role in your learning experience here's a webpage you might go nuts about!
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/lesson-plans

The activities range from A2 to C1 and they are designed to work on different linguistic skills!

Here's some grammar activities that may be quite useful for b1 and b2 students. The first three links are rephrasing exercises.

http://www.box.com/shared/lx5hicgs0i
http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/Use_of_English.htm
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/firstcertificate/contenidotematico.htm
http://www.examenglish.com/TOEFL/toefl_structure_http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/firstcertificate/contenidotematico.htm1.htm
http://www.examenglish.com/leveltest/index.php
http://www.examenglish.com/ECPE/ecpe_grammar.htm
http://www.examenglish.com/grammar/B1_reported_speech.htm
http://www.examenglish.com/ECCE/ECCE_grammar.htm

Four juicy interviews from Time Magazine's 10 questions series.

Vigo Mortessen
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1867124,00.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWexFvaC5n4


Ricky Gervais
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7IEvfd1oXo&feature=relmfu

James Ellroy
http://www.google.es/search?q=10+questions+james+ellroy&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:es-ES:official&client=firefox-a
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHseb8JGNyA

Hillary Swank
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2028088,00.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6X-PyUexZ8

If you're searching for language conversation partners online. The largest sites are www.mylanguageexchange.com and www.livemocha.com but some other good ones include www.languageexchange.org, www.conversationexchange.com www.sharedtalk.comand www.italki.com

Free video courses.

betteratenglish.
http://www.betteratenglish.com/videos/

privateenglishportal.(Phrasal verbs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=886hLlkwipI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qzd7zNt-qA&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7kftdmgvBY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1bw_manHJw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqKGAg0YFlo&feature=relmfu

privateenglishportal (idioms)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBhfw-b6Ubg&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWfHZkrA_Zg&feature=relmfu

podenglish.
http://www.youtube.com/user/podEnglish?feature=watch#p/c/ECDB3ECC0AF0E938/52/QJP72OwZZPM
http://www.youtube.com/user/podEnglish?feature=watch#p/c/ECDB3ECC0AF0E938/53/2pmn6hYU8tI
http://www.youtube.com/user/podEnglish?feature=watch#p/c/ECDB3ECC0AF0E938/54/ZuQxcI473wI

learnenglishlive
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emBCa_aB0Rw&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd4Gtmy8e8s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVBQWgLobcg&feature=relmfu

Peppy English Pronunciation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek6jV2CiKtY&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SP99AD0EB3EFC5C338
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Y7k2I6XDI&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DniS53RrZZg&feature=related

Free video course.
http://www.youtube.com/user/podEnglish?feature=watch#p/c/ECDB3ECC0AF0E938/0/nTSl4DuwJVk

Free online courses ranging from elementary all the way up to advanced level. All you have to do is registering!

http://www.englishtown.es/online/home.aspx

PHRASAL VERBS EXPOSED!

http://www.phrasalverbdemon.com/grammar.htm

JUUUUUUUUUUUIIIICY BLOG!

http://robert-esl.blogspot.com/2008/01/listening-comprehension.html

b2 A great page if you're into giving your bit a touch of slangy coolness

http://www.ezslang.com/

A bit more A1 listening practice
http://esl.about.com/od/listening/Beginning_Level_English_Listening_Comprehension_Exercises.htm

Check out the customers' reviews. Step Across This Line or Notes form a Big Country?

http://www.amazon.com/Step-Across-This-Line-Nonfiction/dp/0679463348

http://www.amazon.com/Notes-Big-Country-Bill-Bryson/dp/0552997862/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321613496&sr=1-1

kinetic typography!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeQ8lgExcNU&feature=related
http://vimeo.com/15412319
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF8f8w6HPoo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q_SHlu9haw&feature=related

Do you think slide shows are a good way of presenting information? If you do, this is probably a tool you'll enjoy using.

http://www.slideshare.net/vrevert2/word-order-of-phrasal-verbs
http://www.slideshare.net/titxer/gerund-or-infinitive-presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/nessita77/adjectives-followed-by-prepositions
http://www.slideshare.net/bizpod/video-vocab-04-law-1-basic-legal-terms
http://www.slideshare.net/Elenag77/the-language-of-headlines

Visual aid and excercises to learn new vocabulary.
http://www.learningchocolate.com/

This is a useful set of questions to get you reflecting on your own learning process and help you start devising your plans.

http://www.learnenglish.de/strategypage.htm

THE ALPHABET!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpIhzFh0yw8


NUMBERS!!!
1 to 10 (John John)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoNskJVK2YA
1 to 20 ( John John)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scu9zzC5U3g&feature=relmfu
1 to 12 (Sesame Street pinball song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZshZp-cxKg
1 to 9 (DJ Premier)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SgvvH6wfRU

ALPHABET, NUMBERS AND NOTES!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-aSjHnbw18&feature=related
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/a-b-c-lyrics-the-jackson-5/ba0857d1dbd0c97c48256a8c0020c9e8

For hip hop lovers who struggle daily to unfathom the seemingly unfathomable! Make sense out of the sometimes marvelously creative twististry of rhymes.

http://rapgenius.com

For those of you interested in amateur film-making and getting good quality clips, be them music video clips or otherwise.
http://www.vimeo.com

Johnny Cash. An old school artist that luckily got to have a horde of different admirers at the end of his life. This video is a monument to honesty.

The song , which was originally written by Trent Reznor, was the inspiration for a video that made a whole lot of young people rave about a 70 year old artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YizGd_bVEVk&feature=related

Song lyrics

http://www.lyrics007.com/Johnny%20Cash%20Lyrics/Hurt%20Lyrics.html

Interviews with Trent Reznor and Johhny Cash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlzjqPGdOSM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLjskiusfMo&feature=related

9 minute documentary about the end of Cash's life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6klx6ViCYsw

I realized it might be possible to actually see these writers having a goat what they do best: using words. True, They are novelists, not orators and some writers feel oddly ill at ease when confronted with spoken word.

Martin Amis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw0QwZpUiT8

Kazuo Ishiguro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=batJu1ypW-Y

Salman Rushdie (very juicy stuff; indepth exploration of the issue of a variety of issues. This interview doesn't really have much to do with the author's novels):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc60ro81dIw

Ian McEwan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc60ro81dIw

Esther Freud (the authors interviews the author of Beirut Blues)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddxVtrqfxjs&feature=related

Hanif Kureishi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzYMGkmkv_g

Rose Tremain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx3M7Kn-EME

Will Self
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-dBLO-Zn4g

Ben Okri
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orNNO90R-JI

Philip Kerr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlTyoygUTII

The new enfant terrible of Scottish comedy (Not for political correctness adherers!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvOQxeQKrdw

A classic (between-bracket-warning still applies): Billy Connoly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDhETFcgWTE&feature=related

A bit of Scottish fun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kuZICFk_is

Mr. Foul-Mouthed Scott vs. Mr. Razor Sharp Big Words
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebviKewRtvc&feature=related

I got this info from a short essay Salman Rushdie wrote in 1993. Those of you who are into reading might get at least half as excited as I did when you lay your eyes on the lists, which obviously are not exhaustive but allow for quite a cluster of talented individuals.

In the early eighties these guys were given the weight label 'Best of Young British Novelists'. If Mr Salman Rushdie doesn't remember who were the bunch of literary critics who decided those and not other were the names and surnames on the lists, it is maybe not that important after all. Or maybe it is...

...I' ll try n google it...

Alright. The list was published in the literary magazine GRANTA, whose editor is Bill Bufford (Mr Rushdie did of course mentioned that further below. Why didn't I bother reading a bit further?) Anyway, here are the twenty writers:

Martin Amis, Pat Barker, Julian Barnes, Ursula Bentley, William Boyd, Buchi Emecheta, Maggie gee, Kazuo Ishiguro, Alan Judd, Adam Mars-jones, Ian McEwan, Shiva Naipaul, Philip Norman, Christopher Priest, Salman Rushdie, Clive Sinclair, Lisa St Aubin de Teran, Graham Swift, Rose Tremain and E.N. Wilson.

In 1990's list included the following word weavers:

Ian Bands, Louis de Bernieres, Anne Billson, Tibot Fischer, Esther Freud, Allan Hollinghurst, Kazuo Ishiguro, A. L. Kennedy, Philip KErr, Hanif Kureishi, Adam Lively, Adam Mars-Jones, Candia MacWilliams, Lawrence Norfolk, Ben Okri, Caryl Phillips, Will Self, Nicholas Shakespeare, Helen Simpson and Jeanette Winterson

One of the most respected English language experts. He doesn't sound like your average ivory tower dweller, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7WSzxQ0nX4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihx5B8vkaQA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8qOC6PJGvA&feature=fvwrel

Morgan Freeman short interview clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3cGfrExozQ&feature=related

Excellent video with a fairly unlikely intro!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spBiWsgJOd4

MIA flies like paper, gets high like planes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sei-eEjy4g&feature=related

Free film transcripts!!!
http://www.script-o-rama.com/table.shtml

Excellent tips, excercises and explanations.
http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/default4.htm
http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/eiw/complaint_letter_constructor.htm

Two amazing resources to get familiar with new vocab and explore the stunning world of synonymy.
http://thesaurus.com/
http://flashcards.dictionary.com/study/deck/5/reason-and-intention-logic-practice-quiz/

Great resource to practice listening and to learn new vocab.
http://www.esl-lab.com
http://esl-lab.com/review/review.htm
http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-movies.htm