Monday, December 15, 2014

A few channels,  dozens of speeches, hundreds of learning opportunities.



This website's almost too good to be true. It's packed full of sound investigative reporting. This is as serious you can get by today's TV journalism standards...You'll be able to find documentaries on almost every topic imaginable on this site. And to top it all up, all transcripts are available too!!! I just can't believe this is free!!!

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/episodes

Tuesday, December 09, 2014


For those wanting to have a more in-depth insight into the (CEFR) Common European Framework of Reference  for Languages (CEFR).
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_EN.pdf


Friday, November 07, 2014

Videos (reviews and articles) for C1 organized by topic


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxYjFNh_aIA
High Hidelity
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/jul/21/nickhornby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60woEQroy0g
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/jul/21/comment
The Human Stain
http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9505E4D81430F932A05753C1A9659C8B63
The Inside Job
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMQ804MKkWI

Brilliant webpage!

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/word-games/verb-machine
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/elementary-podcasts
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/talk-about
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/stories-poems

Learn by doing tips
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/how/how-order-round-pub
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/how-to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjfM4Wrj9UI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shim_Sham


Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Paraphrase it, rephrase it, say it in your own words, break it down your own way, put it across as plain and simple as you can... or , maybe, twist it beyond recognition, embellish it, adorn it...whatever y'all do, though , u betta make sho' y'all keep ya rap flowing and ya tools sharp!

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/1/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/28/12/33/answer
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/6/9/24/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/6/9/24/answer

Monday, July 21, 2014

These debates are a good way of getting familiar with sophisticated ways of interacting, negociating, expressing opinions, accepting others' views, rejecting others' arguments and so on. The topics they deal with are US foreign policy, technology, climate change or religion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3G4LA-QwR4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx0CXmagQu0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyIQrS0Wqr0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmTLdSfHh_U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8qPtLmfwZ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AntDHcgDEks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDD6XZ55TAI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOU306AvvHE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trSaVLbfspg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMraxhd9Z9Q
Free uni lessons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..On lots of different subjects!!!!!

Philosophy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVQKbQVc2_w

History
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC8JcWVRFp8

Economics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yycGEFCNYE

Literature
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgyZ4ia25gg

Chemistry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSYEApgJkh0&list=PL3F629F73640F831D

Architecture and civil engineering
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm-1Vc3JlWs

Physics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK-BxowMIfg&list=PL5694B25F659D95B0
TED speakers on language acquisition...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0yGdNEWdn0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WLHr1_EVtQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a6vVIdQBd0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNmf-G81Irs

and CUSP speakers on business and enterpreneurship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaZPBonUKBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOpaIeKRo_w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp4Z5uusd_I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVvGJKzxzEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwxmdyC4F3U
 Confrontational film club???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qxpBxVVKNE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCmrOzhoUcs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3QrNpxTzm0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY0diaHlC2w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sFwzpUGTpg

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Two interesting bits on sloppiness in science taken from The Economist's podcast and online version repectively.
https://soundcloud.com/theeconomist/is-science-wrong
http://www.economist.com/node/2724226
Some useful tips

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Short-Story

That's right. Time to write! Watch minutes 1.50  to 6.05. Finish the story of The Man in The Hole.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUhGvAY9fM4

You can read the first few pages here. Just click on the book cover.
http://www.amazon.com/Man-Dark-Novel-Paul-Auster/dp/0312428510

Friday, February 21, 2014

if you're interested in music and languages...well...let your mouth start to water

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IxJbc_aMTg

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

A ton of well-structured English video lessons. Excellent to review your grammar, practice your listening skills and learning new vocab.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3dBkm3aa8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXk4tQH9AWQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5hELJQJ7lo


Sunday, November 03, 2013

This guy can teach! Great stuff on phrasal verbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsE4UmmkVtU&list=UUwA7Aepp7nRUJNa8roQ-6Bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_YAUaSqV8o&list=UUwA7Aepp7nRUJNa8roQ-6Bw
Psychometric verbal reasoning tests...brilliant for your English and good training if you re looking for a job.

Friday, October 18, 2013

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

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

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

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/

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Monday, May 27, 2013

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

Monday, May 06, 2013

Thursday, March 21, 2013


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

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

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

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Friday, February 08, 2013

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.

Friday, February 01, 2013

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

Thursday, January 10, 2013


 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

Friday, November 30, 2012

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


Monday, November 26, 2012


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

Friday, November 23, 2012

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

Thursday, November 22, 2012


 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

Monday, November 12, 2012

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

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

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

Monday, October 22, 2012

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



Thursday, October 18, 2012

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

Sunday, September 02, 2012

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...

Friday, June 15, 2012

REVISIÓN

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

Friday, May 18, 2012

 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