Language Learning

11.11.11

2011-11-11T22:38:00.001+01:00

11.11.11 - Le Jour d’armistice or Armistice Day

Compare this picture with today’s activity in France. There is a marked difference in attitudes towards Armistice Day between the UK and France. In France, Armistice Day is a public holiday; however the highly symbolic day 11th itself is not a public holiday in the UK. Despite this significant difference, attitudes on each side of the Channel do vary a lot.

The first noticeable visible difference can be seen during the run up to the 11th of November. Anyone arriving in the UK at the beginning of November will not fail to notice the ‘Poppy’ being sold nearly everywhere and worn right across the country. In fact, the wearing of poppies has been splashed all over the front pages recently, as FIFA initially did not permit British footballers to wear it on a match, which resulted in an uproar, involving Prince William and the Prime Minister. It isn’t just footballers who wear the poppy as a mark of remembrance, as you will find a range of people from TV celebrities, train guards, police officers, shopkeepers to the Queen herself, proudly wearing one. You can even find electronic versions on the internet and on Facebook. The Poppy is sold to raise funds for the Royal British Legion, a charity for ex-service personnel.

Compare this scene on the streets and in newspapers UK with France. There is an equivalent of the Poppy in France and it is called the Bleuet. It is sold by an equivalent French commemorative group with almost the same objectives. (Look at the bottom of http://www.google.fr/). I have yet to come across one seller in Grenoble, which is a fairly decent sized city in France. In the UK, I would be almost tripping over a seller every 5 minutes! Amazingly, I only saw one person wearing a bleuet in the whole of Grenoble.

Secondly, a two minute silence in memory of the fallen soldiers takes place all over the UK on the 11th of November at 11a.m. Yet, at 11a.m. in Grenoble, everyone was just carrying on with their daily routine; shoppers browsing in shops, trams rattling along the streets, shopkeepers gossiping with their clients. There wasn’t a single piece of evidence of either a one minute or two minutes silence. Notwithstanding this, there are numerous ceremonies at the “Monument aux Morts” to remember the fallen, which without fail occur on the 11th, in the UK, these official ceremonies take place on the nearest Sunday, hence Remembrance Sunday.

In France, Armistice Day is widely seen as a day to remember the fallen of the 1st World War and the Second World War as well. On the other side of the “Manche” Remembrance Sunday isn’t just about the World Wars, as the British traditionally honour the memory of those who died in all the wars the UK has taken part in.

More information on the Poppy:

Poppy Appeal

Questions

1. Who was the first person to wear a poppy and why?

2. What is the word used in the article to describe “asking for a donation”

3. In the poem, which words are used to describe

• To fight

• Enemy

4. What is another word for symbol?

English words and Prepositions

2011-11-03T22:14:00.001+01:00

Noun + prep / Adjective + Prep/ Adverb + Prep / Verb + Prep..

Usually we can find such dull lists at the back of English textbooks, unloved and hated. Is it a marriage in hell?
How to remember them and use them correctly? Well, this might help.. ( I hope)...........

Exercise: To make sentences using the diagrams and word expressions below.

Example 1: I'm bad AT maths but I'm good AT daydreaming!

Example 2: Thora is finally safe FROM the nasty vampires!

Example 3: That was stupid OF you TO drop your mobile phone in a pint of beer.

Click on the diagrams to enlarge them.

Silly English Mistakes

2011-11-02T22:31:00.000+01:00

Intermediate Level and +

This is my collection of silly mistakes that I encounter as a teacher of English! If I had just 1 Euro for every mistake I heard or saw in the last year, I'd be a happy person by now!

English - Times changes

2011-10-30T15:17:00.001+01:00

Upper-Intermediate - Adv [Reading and Vocabulary]

About Time......................... changing

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/timewarp-the-odd-history-of-that-extra-hour-in-bed-2377790.html

Print and read the newspaper article.

Questions for students:

1. What is the difference between AFFECT and EFFECT?

2. What is the opposite word for GRUMPY?

3. In what other situation(s) can you BASK IN?

4. Define the word COUNTERPART;

5. Give the different word formations (adj,adv, related to the word VOCIFEROUS?

6. To be appalled at... what is a synonym of this expression?

7. Explain the difference between TO SHOW and TO ILLUSTRATE;

8. What is the opposite to SCRAP an idea?

9. What is the verb used in the article which has the same meaning as TO LENGTHEN THE DURATION OF?

10. What is the meaning of TO OBSERVE in part 14:00?

11. What else collocates with the word CONSUMPTION?

12. To PASS A LAW but what is the similar expression used in part 23:00?

Learning FRENCH but tired of boring books and teaching methods?

2011-10-23T23:42:00.000+02:00

Are you still struggling with learning "la belle langue" French. Given up on classes as they are just too dull?

DOOOOONNNN'T GIVE UP... there is hope:

General (free) online resources:

Basic French (survival)   - http://www.single-serving.com/French/French_Phrases-A4.pdf

Others:   http://www.lepointdufle.net/debutants.htm

              http://www.ielanguages.com/french.html

              http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/index.shtml

Books

I can also recommend this book:

Upgrade Your French by Margaret Jubb,

and also this one too for serious study of the learning (intermediate and above):
The Ultimate French Review & Practice by David M Stillman & Ronni L. Gordon.

You won't find these books in France though! Check out Amazon or Play websites.

Courage!

Listening to the news in English

2011-06-15T22:35:00.000+02:00

FRANCE 24 news:
FRANCE 24 NEWS

English idioms part 1

2011-06-05T21:42:00.000+02:00

First Part ....

Starting to learn Spanish?

2011-06-04T13:53:00.000+02:00

This website offers FREE online basic Spanish lessons.

Try it HERE..

Bratislava Trams

2011-06-02T14:19:00.003+02:00

An ode to..... the sturdy trams of Bratislava.

Part 1

A sight to behold in winter is a Bratislava tram, literally, ploughing its way through fresh snowdrifts, creating a ship-like bow wave of scattered snow. Viewed from a distance, it is almost like a ship in snow except for the squeaks, squeals & rumbles of heavy metallic wheels on tracks as it trundles downhill towards the city centre.

Come snow or sun, wind or rain, the humdrum sounds of a tram are quite varied, from the sound of the overhead motor unit, the rattle of carriages to the clunking of wheels moving over uneven rail track joints.

Day in, day out, the sturdy cream & red liveried workhorses convey their human loads from suburbia to the centre in the mornings. Drowsy, dreamy commuters sit inside the carriage without paying any attention whatsoever to the sounds heard in each and every tram.

The most obvious tram sound is the electrical hum of electricity coming from the overhead motor unit, feeding power, heat and light to the tram. As it pulls away from a stop, the hum playfully whines, willingly accepting the commands from the driver to accelerate and pick up more speed. However, when the tram slows down, the whine becomes a kind of begrudging, plaintive moan, as the electrical load decreases and speed is lost.

Every time a tram arrives at a stop, there is the sound of a short sharp ‘ding’, which is quickly followed by the squeaking of doors folding back inwards. On the more modern trams, the squeaks are replaced by some sort of hydraulic “swishing hiss” as the doors swing outwards.

To be continued......

Notes:

Livery: the common design & paint scheme a (transport) company will use on its vehicles (including logos)In this sense, the term ' livery' is applied to railway locomotives & rollling stock, trams, ships, aircraft and road vehicles such as buses or coaches.

Humdrum: Lacking in variety or in this context: humdrum character or routine; monotony. Verbs describing movement are highlighted in italics.

Words describing noises & sounds are highlighed in dark blue.

30 sec lesson - Perfect tenses - wine bottle

2011-05-30T23:28:00.000+02:00

A brief guide for students and teachers.. Using the perfect tenses in context
[Bringing together the perfect tenses - an example dialogue].

J'accuse!

A. The bottle was full this morning!

B. so?

A. The wine has gone down (since then)!

B. and? Why are you asking?

A. Have you been drinking the wine?

B. No! I haven't!

A. It must have been the wine fairy then?

B. It definitely wasn't me, honest! It may have been Claude as he was here this morning. It was him who had brought the bottle of wine in the first place.

A. When did he bring it?
B. I don't know exactly when.

30 sec lesson - human sounds

2011-05-28T20:54:00.000+02:00

Sounds that humans make:

Exercises

List the sounds you would expect to hear in the situations below:

a. the spectators watching a match in a football stadium;

b. Someone who is ill and has a cold;

c. Someone has just seen a scary scene in a horror film;

d. Someone unfit climbing up a mountain;

e. an audience responding to a really funny comedy;

f. at a scene of a major disaster;

g. people waiting in a long queue at an airport;

h. a sergeant on parade at the Royal Wedding;

i. a shocking news event;

j. a teacher trying to discipline an unruly class;

k. someone sleeping;

l. a person who has just watched a sad ending to a film;

m. someone trying to explain to the police why he has a bag of fake money.

English Formal and Informal language

2011-05-28T14:42:00.001+02:00

Cllick on the picture to look at the exercise on Formal v Informal English. Replace the informal English verbs, make sure that you use the correct tense!

For further activities on 'register', go to this LINK (CAE level activity).

La langue francaise et le slovaque

2011-05-28T13:48:00.001+02:00

A voir:

Vocabulary Vocabulary

2011-05-20T20:55:00.005+02:00

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.Rudyard Kipling

Learning English but finding it difficult? It is about having the CONFIDENCE to learn, to read, to listen and to speak!

Things to consider when increasing your vocabulary...

EXERCISE ACTIVITY

Students: Your task is to look up the word: CONFIDENCE in your dictionary and also look it up on this website:
http://www.visuwords.com/             confidence

How many related words have you found that are completely new to you?
Are you going to learn some of them? How are you going to remember them?

Example:http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confident

"Synonyms: confidence, assurance, aplomb, self-confidence, self-possession"These nouns denote a feeling of emotional security resulting from faith in oneself.
confidence                                       Reading about the word in context:
Confidence is a firm belief in one's powers, abilities, or capacities: "You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face"
(Eleanor Roosevelt).

I like this feature as it allows you to look at the word in context:   CONFIDENT    and finally: AESOP'S FABLES

Exam practice in context 1 -

2011-05-17T11:13:00.003+02:00

Studying for an English exam? ....................Getting nervous?

1a. Plan carefully what you need to REVISE! Identify the weak areas, but don't say grammar is a weak area as this is too vague! Do a test or do practice papers for the exam that you are studying for, test yourself and work on those areas that need to be improved. An example is:
http://www.englishjet.com/english_courses_files/tests.htm

1b. Set goals! If you set yourself some goals, you will improve your English. You need to focus your studies so write down the goals that you want to achieve. Don't simply say: pass the exam! This is your end goal, but how are you going to achieve?

2. Don't learn chunks of words on their own as it will be a waste of your time and effort. If you are going to learn pages of words then you need to learn the collocations too! Guidance and more information on how to learn them:
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm

A good dictionary of collocation is “Oxford Collocations Dictionary”

3. Read as much as possible.. (there are loads of useful and informative websites such as newspapers, blogs, online books in English). The more you read, you increase your awareness of English in a more natural way. PLEASE PLEASE.. don't just sit there at your desk with a dictionary, looking up words every couple of minutes, but rather try to force yourself to understand the general meaning of the sentence or paragraph. This is VERY IMPORTANT as ALL English exams will test you on this ability! Nor will you have a dictionary in the exam room!

4. Some students say that they need to go to an English-speaking country to improve their English, maybe, BUT it is really necessary? Why don't you let the English-speaking world come to you (internet radio, language clubs in your town, CNN, BBC TV programmes, etc...), it is all there. OK, you'll need to find time, at least 15 minutes a day, your daily dose of English is sufficient to improve your English.

5. Buy yourself a good English- English dictionary! See my blog entry on book recommendations. Search online for useful resources. i.e.
http://www.esldepot.com/product.php/14/5/

6. Listen and listen and listen to English as much as possible! Your ears and brain are amazing resources... http://www.english-listening-world.com/

7. Have fun! Reward yourself when you achieve a goal. Also try to do some crazy things such as:
•Go out and pretend you don't understand your native language (try to get by in only English).
•Go online and find the lyrics to your favourite English songs and sing along to them (use a search engine).

IELTS general preparation - listening and reading

2011-05-12T21:38:00.000+02:00

This resource is especially useful for both teachers and students:

TED Talks covers a wide range of topics, (with translations), subtitled and an interactive transcript. The talks are great because they contain a wealth of vocabulary, a range of accents and also topics that are often useful for the Academic part of the IELTS exam.

Here is the link: www.ted.com

http://www.ted.com/talks/browse

English learners - book recommendations

2011-05-05T11:48:00.004+02:00

Here is my list of very useful books for English learners (and teachers too!).

1. I LOVE the simple style of this little book: (it is also available for French and Spanish languages).
English with Games and Activities (2), ELI publications

An extract of it is HERE.music AND to view the catalogue: CLICK HERE

2. English Vocabulary Organiser (self-study), Chris Gough, HEINLE
ISBN: 978 1 899396 36 8 To see what the book looks like: CLICK HERE

3. For those of you are seriously worried by PHRASAL VERBS.. then try this one:
Phrasal Verb Organiser, HEINLE

PS I am not a book agent for any of these books but I am find them of practical use when helping students with improving their English.

Post Royal Wedding - English UK Culture

2011-05-01T15:49:00.004+02:00

For some you who watched The Royal Wedding, there might be some things that you would like to know about. (I do - why were there trees inside the Abbey?).

I love the video of the priest cart-wheeling down the aisle (nave) of the Abbey after the ceremony (and one of the trees!).
Click here

READING MATERIALS

The Royal Wedding featured a number of iconic images, places and "cultural features ", I've included a selection of links to click and read:

Westminister Abbey: MORE INFO HERE

The song Jerusalem (which was sung towards the end of the wedding service) MORE INFO HERE

Buckingham Palace (where the Kiss took place!) MORE INFO HERE

and something about the soldiers of the Foot Guards and Household Cavalry: MORE INFO HERE and HERE

A Lesson PLAN on The Royal Wedding: HERE

And lastly some facts and figures on The Royal Wedding HERE http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13248642

Creating word lists in English

2011-04-27T13:02:00.001+02:00

Again a great little tool for English students and teachers:

http://www.visualthesaurus.com/vocabgrabber/

Looking up words in a visual way

2011-04-27T12:51:00.001+02:00

Nice lovely website here:

http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

it is a handy tool for those who are allergic to looking up related words in a paper book!

Vision Video - Language

2011-04-12T21:33:00.001+02:00

If you ever wondered about the use of modals in English... then listen to this Vision Video on language and human nature.

Vision Videos in English

2011-04-12T21:17:00.002+02:00

A wealth of visual videos and talks presented in English. http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/videos/ I highly recommend visiting this website to listen, watch and read about some really interesting topics. I would strongly recommend this one:

Extreme English lessons

2011-03-13T21:03:00.001+01:00

From the archives of BBC Serbian, a rather odd and amusing series of Extreme English lessons:

CLICK HERE

Enjoy

Parallel text English Serbo-Croat

2011-03-09T15:47:00.003+01:00

Once upon a time there was a country called Yugoslavia and it had an official language. Sometimes some references to this type of language can be still found in books and also online. Here is one example:

1984 by George Orwell as a bilingual text.Here is an extract from it;

Bio je vedar i hladan aprilski dan; na časovnicima je izbijalo trinaest.
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

Vinston Smit, brade zabijene u nedra da izbegne ljuti vetar, hitro zamače u staklenu kapiju stambene zgrade Pobeda, no nedovoljno hitro da bi sprečio jednu spiralu oštre prašine da uđe zajedno s njim.
Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him.

TO READ THE TEXT HERE

How learning another language is good for you

2011-02-24T14:31:00.002+01:00

Read this article from the TIME magazine:
TIME ARTICLE

and the article with this ONE.

Apprendre le slovaque

2011-02-21T22:29:00.001+01:00

Un lien ICI

et des cours sur ligne ICI

Apprendre quelques mots de serbe

2011-02-21T22:18:00.001+01:00

Regardez

ICI

pour voire une liste.

English lesson - easily confused words

2011-02-09T15:34:00.003+01:00

An excellent list of online and printable exercises to do on easily confused words, i.e.

JOB, WORK

using the verbs MAKE, DO collocations with HEAVY, STRONG, etc....

Click below to look at the webpage:
http://perso.wanadoo.es/autoenglish/freeexercises.htm#TRICKY%20WORDS

It´s a BRILLANT LIST of RESOURCES

Slovak - everyday expressions

2011-02-08T00:04:00.004+01:00

Learning a language in the actual country is quite different to learning a language from a phrasebook or in the classroom.

I am finding this out every day, especially day to day expressions used by people.

Situation 1

When the Tesco shop assitant dropped my tin on the floor, she exclaimed: Ježišmária!
(Jesus Mary!). (Christ!)

Situation 2

Going up to the cash till, the shop assistant will usually say: "nech sa páči!" (roughly translated as either "here you are" or " you are welcome".

Situation 3

Two teens on the tram gossiping about boys and new girlfriends, inevitably one would say to the other: Čože?! (What really?)
and the other would reply: "No...noo... to je fakt!" Yeah, (Yeahhh, it is.. really!)

Situation 4

Utterly confused by the choice of hot chocolate drink toppings in the coffeebar, you end up saying:
"nevadí" (It doesn't matter).

Situation 5

There is a dead fly squished on the tram window and a girl sees it and says: Fuj! (Yuck).

Slovak and the Slovak language

2011-02-07T23:44:00.002+01:00

An article about Slovak:

Slovakia: Land of 12000 sayings

Sometimes I find the Slovak Spectator, an English language newspaper, to be of use when I am learning bits of Slovak, usually in a random fashion.

What incentive do you need to learn the Slovak genative (PLURAL) case?

Mastering the genitive plural is essential to learning Slovak, especially as beer is usually ordered in great quantities.

:-))))

English lesson - transport buildings and energy

2011-02-07T21:52:00.004+01:00

Questions for students:

TRANSPORT

What kind of transport can you see in the video?
List as many transport related 'action' verbs?

ENERGY

What kind of energy sources/power are shown in the video?

BUILDINGS

How many different types of buildings can you see?
How many building related verbs can you see in the video?

Vocabulary for Intermediate and above

Match up the words below with the timeline in the video:

1. Ancient period
2. Middle Ages
3. Victorian period
4. 1950's American
5. Now and future?

Windfarm / wind turbine
Solar panels
(water) mill
sustainable sources
fossil fuel
oil donkey
extraction (to extract)
power station

Hut
spire
scaffolding
Cart
coach (horse-drawn)

wagon
(rail) track
station concourse
(to) shovel
engine and tender

Resort
urban (area)
built-up area

Slovak SONG - Pribeh

2011-02-07T21:08:00.002+01:00

_________________________________________________________________________
A great r'n'b song from the Slovak singer Tina (Martina Csillagová) and Slovak rapper Rytmus (Patrik Vrbovský).

Lyrics (English)

Tina: So, dont cry, believe me for the last time?
You always say I dont have to be afraid,
What you give me is the clear plan,
I solve it with music and I fell asleep with you.
And if we are together, it won't go alone,
You only wave with your hand, "it will go over".
I have an empty feeling,
Touch won't help this coldness.
It's over, there's no way back, I know it,
It's over where we are, you, you know it.
There are two ways that don't link anything,
Get out, out of my dreams.

Refrain:

This is our story, I feel the close downfall,
So it's over, you have to understand
We wanted more, little was given sometimes.
It won't go, it's not possible.
I say a few words that might hurt,
I don't wanna hear anything, I want to be alone
I can't breathe, I don't want to stand by your side anymore.
Get out!

Rytmus: You alway accuse me, you always call me,
I have fear from you, I'm run from you.
You always think I'm cheatin' on you.
It's not my fault that I love babes,
You're angry with me, you can't believe me.
You know it's too late, and it can't be changed.
My heart is calling for you, I won't admit it to myself,
'Cos I think of you, yeah, why weren't we together more.
Only coldness remains, good is over,
There's nothing can save us, you know.
So come here, let me hug you for the last time,
It was me who made the mistake, so I'll go.

Refrain

Tina: Give it back, give it back right now,
You're not happy to have me,

Rymus: It's fucked up, it can't be done back,
I feel only coldness, good is over,
We don't understand each other no more.

Tina: My rythm is only, only yours,
We have the proof, it is in us.

Online information for IELTS students - writing

2011-01-31T23:15:00.003+01:00

A good introduction to LINKING WORDS:

An article about ARTICLES...

Building sentences: a SENTENCE

AND MORE HERE for English and French speakers.

Slovak - a musical lesson

2011-01-31T22:54:00.002+01:00

Made for me

Some reasons for learning Slovak or not

2011-01-25T23:12:00.004+01:00

Entertaining and funny article from IH in Bratislava.

Loan words in Slovak...

http://ihbratislava.sk/media/a542/file/item/sk/0000/TMI95dp3.pdf

The case for not NOT learning Slovak. Did anyone say that it was a hard language to pick up?

READ HERE

In my own experience, speaking Slovak can result in either:

A complete blank look on the part of the Slovak concerned, absolutely stunned by the fact that there is someone attempting the language... That lost look!

OR

The Slovak person concerned immediately thinks that just because you can grasp a smattering of the lingo, that somehow, you understand the language perfectly (at native speaker speed).

I rest my case..

London icons video

2010-12-05T21:57:00.004+01:00

A British culture lesson (and Czech language too!)

EMPATIA

Empatia (M. Žbirka/M. Žbirka)

Empatia je smer
Kľúč od srdcí a dvier
Smútok iných aj smiech
Nerozumieš tak nech

Empatia je svit
Do tých druhých sa vcíť
Zbožné prianie ja viem
Neprekočíš svoj tieň

Svet je absurdný
Sám to vidím tiež
Mávam také dni
Zavri oči bež

Potom ráno zas
Tma sa rozplynie
V diaľke známy hlas
Opať jasne znie

How many London icons can you see in the video?

Use this video to describe what you can see.

EFL Discussion topic list

2010-11-08T19:07:00.002+01:00

There is a comprenhensive list of topic questions on the website

ESL Discussions. www.esldiscussions.com

For example there is one on Serbia and also on France, so lets see...

http://www.esldiscussions.com/s/serbia.html

http://www.esldiscussions.com/f/france.html

Enjoy..

vocab

2010-11-05T12:07:00.001+01:00

http://www.lextutor.ca/list_learn/

English discussion techniques and vocabulary

2010-10-22T15:58:00.003+02:00

NICE LINK TO
DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES USED in English.

http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/discform.html

English lessons = elementary = jobs

2010-10-19T16:57:00.001+02:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m36xv75MJ4U

UK culture lesson - summer solstice

2010-06-21T16:57:00.004+02:00

Many students will tell you about iconic places in the UK, Tower Bridge, Big Ben and maybe Stonehenge. What is so special about Stonehenge?

Stonehenge

For some people in the UK, Stonehenge isn't just a tourist attraction, it is an important part of their religious and cultural life. Stonehenge is a Neolithic structure that was built in ancient times. The monument is located on Salisbury Plain in southern England. It still holds a number of mysteries to modern archaeologists and as such the exact reason for the construction of Stonehenge is unknown. It is believed that the site was used as an astronomical observatory, or as a religious site.

One thing that is known about Stonehenge, is that it was used for Pagan celebrations and processions. This tradition still takes place today, with thousands of revellers gathering on the summer solstice to watch the sun rise on the longest day of the year. It is considered by Neo-Pagans and Druids to be a site of pilgrimage and thousands of them gather at the summer and winter solstice, as well as the spring and autumn equinox. The tradition of observing the solstice was revived in the late 19th century and the first recorded modern Druidic event took place in 1905.

Watch and listen to a programme about Stonehenge: here.

CLICK HERE to see pictures of the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge.

An article on the Summer Solstice: HERE.

Beautiful photo: HERE.

More information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7322444.stm

Language Box:

Solstice: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/solstice
Reveller: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/reveller
Druid: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/druid
A pre-Christian priest among the Celts of ancient Gaul and Britain and Ireland
Pagan:http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pagan
A person who follows a polytheistic or pre-Christian religion.

Nervous about FCE - part 1

2010-05-27T18:01:00.000+02:00

Picture description

http://fcespeaking.wordpress.com/

Examples, vocab etc...

Education System

2010-05-27T16:44:00.002+02:00

CLICK ON PICTURE to enlarge it.

Transport - video planes and trains

2010-05-24T15:52:00.001+02:00

In this BBC article, there is a nice video clip on planes and trains. This video would be good for EFL lesson on transport and also a good lesson on using Present Continuous.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10146482.stm

Mind mapping English vocab

2010-05-17T14:50:00.002+02:00

Slovak and other Slavic lanaguages

2010-05-10T18:55:00.002+02:00

Counting in Slovak in a bar - 2 to 10

2010-05-10T18:38:00.002+02:00

A light hearted take:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm8MG5-odSQ

counting up to 10 in Slovak....

O -nula
1 - jeden
2- dva
3 - tri
4 - štyri
5 -päť
6 -šesť
7 - sedem
8 - osem
9 - deväť
10 - desať

http://www.slovak.com/language/numbers/0_-_14/0_-_14.html

English Slovak POZOR - ALERT

2010-05-07T16:24:00.003+02:00

English students - you may know to add - LY to make a word into an adjective. BUT....
there are some words that end with -LY, that have a completely different meaning.

See the list above. (Click on the picture to print).

Mini EFL lesson - use of tenses

2010-05-05T20:05:00.005+02:00

From BBC News

Somali pirates hijack Russian China-bound oil tanker

A Russian warship is rushing to assist an oil tanker bound for China which has been hijacked by Somali pirates.

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The Marshal Shaposhnikov was heading towards the Moscow University, which was attacked 900km (560 miles) off the Somali coast, officials said.

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The 23 Russian crew on board are reported to have locked themselves in the ship's radar room.

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But a BBC reporter says the Russian warship is unlikely to intervene as it could put the hostages' lives at risk.

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I am pleased to annouce that the tanker has been freed by the Russian Navy!

Use the lines to explain the tenses used in the sentences.

1. News headlines use the Present Simple (as the reader is reading it now)

Min EFL lesson - Prepositions

2010-05-04T21:44:00.003+02:00

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This excellent picture showing prepositions from:
http://vancouvergis.info/4d-English/preposition.htm

Baguettes and immigrants - idioms

2010-05-04T15:22:00.003+02:00

Nice news article on baguettes, immigration, national identity and being French:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8658953.stm

Best baguette award ruffles Parisian feathers

The outcome of the contest has caused something of a stir in France - where last year a debate on national identity was quietly shelved because of the anti-immigrant rhetoric it generated.

Vocabulary:

To ruffle feathers - to cause a stir - to rattle - to upset -

to annoy, irritate someone, or be annoyed or irritated by someone.

The opposite is: to smooth ruffled feathers

(to make someone feel less annoyed or upset).

Can you find some more antonyms to "to cause a stir).

Musical interlude - Queen

2010-05-03T21:14:00.001+02:00

30 sec EFL lesson -food and drink

2010-05-03T15:20:00.001+02:00

Audio slideshow on Inventions & Discoveries

2010-04-29T19:19:00.002+02:00

A nice audio slideshow about a selection of famous scientists:

CLICK HERE

Great visual and audio lesson, maybe an introduction for a conversation class on inventions and discoveries. For Upper-Int +

Anglo-Saxon manuscripts

2010-04-29T18:44:00.002+02:00

Audio slideshow about a collection of rare and old Anglo-Saxon books (from the BBC):

Very interesting and informative!

CLICK HERE TO SEE IT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8648441.stm

English Culture - May Day

2010-04-28T21:29:00.005+02:00

CLICK ON IMAGE TO make it larger!

More information on the traditions and culture associated with May Day in England:

HERE

St George - TEFL worksheet

2010-04-27T21:59:00.002+02:00

Click on picture to open.

English culture - St George's Day

2010-04-23T11:50:00.007+02:00

Reading, conversation exercise: Int +

........................................................................................................................

I have a question for you:-

What is the connection between England, Palestine and Cappadocia?

St George, who is the patron saint of England, hence the English flag which was his emblem! St. George has been the patron saint of England since the 14th century, before then, the patron saint of England was St Edmund.

Not much is known about the life of St George. He was a Roman soldier who lived in the 3rd century AD. He was born in Cappadocia. He was executed in Palestine because he refused to give up his Christian faith. He is now venerated as a Christian martyr.

Where does the dragon come into all of this?

St George is associated with the well-known legend where he slayed a dragon. The story is really a myth which is often repeated in many films, literature and paintings. It is an iconic image, which can be seen in churches, towns all over the world. Just type in "St George and the Dragon" into Google Images and you will see hundreds of pictures depicting St George slaying the dragon, whose name is not known to us.It wasn't until the eleventh-century when St George was first linked with the slaying a dragon; the earliest known motifs were in Armenia and Georgia. The story became popular when a book called the Golden Legend was published in 1483. According to the Golden Legend narrative, the killing of the dragon is supposed to have taken place in Libya.

Some examples of famous images of St George (iconography) include:

- the coat of arms for Moscow;
- a sculpture by Salvador Dalí;

and Bratislava's very own sculpture!

St George and the slaying of the dragon feature quite prominently in Christianity, although, it seems that the original legend pre-dates Christianity and has its origins in pagan mythology, (ancient Greek myth of Perseus and Andromeda, as well as the Babylonian myths of Marduk slaying the dragon Tiamat).

St George is a highly celebrated saint in both western and eastern Christian churches and all over the world, there are many churches that are dedicated to St George. For a list: click here

That's interesting but how did St George become the patron of England?

Well, it all started with the Crusades (to Palestine). St George was said to have been seen riding alongside the crusaders in 1098. Richard the Lionheart adopted St George as the patron saint and his soldiers wore tunics with the the cross of St George. English crusaders came back from Palestine with numerous tales about St George and the Dragon.

King Edward III keenly promoted the virtues represented by St George, a soldier who was seen to represent the values of chivalry. In 1190, the St George emblem was adopted by England and the City of London, (largely for trade reasons!) and in 1222, St George's Day was declared as a feast day in England. By the 14 th century, St George had become the patron saint for England and protector of the English monarchy.

Although it is England's national saint, it is not a public day, unlike in many other countries such as Bulgaria! For the last couple of years, the authorities in London have put on a range of events to celebrate this special day! St George's Day is increasing in popularity each year, but it is still not as popular as the Irish St Patrick's Day.

What is the connection between St George and Shakespeare?

The first is a famous line from Shakespeare's play: Can you guess which play this is from?

Cry God for Harry, England and St. George!
The second connection is the date: 23rd April. Apparently, Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 and he died on the same day in 1616.

Bonus question for Croatians: What is the connection between Split, St George and Palestine?

Some facts about St George's Day:

St George is the patron saint of scouting so it is a special day for scouts too.
Across the world, Saint George has inspired medals for valour and bravery. In the UK the St George Cross is a medal given for civilian bravery. This medal depicts St George slaying the dragon.
As a result of the bravery of the Maltese people during the Second World War, the George Cross was awarded to Malta and it is featured on the Maltese flag.
St George is the patron saint of Georgia, Germany, Portugal, Greece, Catalonia and many, many other countries, nations and places.
The country of Georgia is named after St George and it too has the flag of St George!
Only 1 in 5 people in England actually know what day it’s on. Oh dear!
The magnificent St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle was built by Edward IV and Henry VII, in dedication to the saint.
In Catalonia, the April 23 is celebrated with lovers and friends giving each other gifts - a red rose and a book.

Some interesting links to read:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8634593.stm

http://www.londonevents2010.com/search-london-events-2010-st-georges-day.html

British culture - part 2 - the curry

2010-04-22T16:40:00.005+02:00

Reading exercise - Int +

Ok, so what is one of the most popular dishes in the UK?

Any EFL teacher might ask this question to his/her students and get one of the following answers: Fish 'n' chips or maybe pudding. Really?

The British have a love affair with "take-aways", especially after a pint or two of beer and are well-known for their love of international cuisine, which might include a trip down to the local "chippy" shop for fish 'n' chips. One of the most popular dishes has to be: CURRY. There are many types of curries around, but the general name is just: CURRY.

Curry / curries (plr), to have a curry, to go for a curry

Here is an extract from the Guardian Newspaper:

Britain's favourite curry, chicken tikka masala, is based on the Indian dish commonly known as "butter chicken". Chicken is marinated in yoghurt and spices, cooked in a tandoori oven, then covered in a creamy tomato sauce. The difference is the British version is slightly sweeter.

Heat from chillies seems to be used in Britain to mask the taste. A vindaloo in Britain is nothing like the true vindaloo you would be served in Goa. If you tried a restaurant dish in India it would have a medium heat. Indians wouldn't comment on the heat of a dish really, just the taste.

Here are some facts:

There are over 9000 curry houses in the UK, employing an estimated 80,000 staff, serving over 2.5 million customers every week – an industry worth £3.5billion.

How did the British love affair with the curry start?

It started over two centuries ago with the colonisation of India by the British, the "British Raj", where the military and colonial civil servants took to eating the local food.

The British in India created their own spicy dishes which were diluted versions of original recipes that the (local) cooks were ordered to make to suit European tastes.

Naturally, the food eaten in India by the British was a fusion between Eastern and Western cuisine. One of these dishes, the curry migrated to the UK shores. The first published recipe for curry in Britain appeared in 1747.

The first "Curry" house in Britain was established in London at the turn of the 19th Century by Dean Mahomed. It was called "the Hindostanee Coffee House". Post-war Britain changed greatly as a result of large-scale immigration from the Indian sub-continent. It wasn't until the late Fifties and Sixties, when curry started to be really popular, as it was a cheap way of eating out. Indian restaurants and takeaways started to take root in cities and town across the UK.

This has changed the fabric of the UK culinary traditions and culture; and explains why the humble curry is regarded as one of the most popular British dishes today.

For more information on the curry - read this article from the BBC webiste:

How Britain got the hots for curry

La langue slovaque

2010-04-21T16:20:00.005+02:00

Peut-être vous avez envie de voyager et de découvre un peu la Slovaquie? Oubliez pas de venir avec un sourire et un guide touristique, car il y a de, e.g.: beaucoup de endroits fantastiky a visiter. Je tape cette article avec un klávesnica (clavier).

Quand vous faites votre valise, n'oubliez pas d'apporter des affaires comme votre pyžama, blúzka, du parfum et du rúž, si êtes vous êtes une femme. Si vous êtes un homme, peut être un biznisman, vous porter une kravata et kostým pour assisté à une konferencia avec le šef de une entreprise.Si il fait froid, un sveter ou pulover sera utile en hiver.

Sur la pláž, on nage le kraul, porte un bikini de couleur béžový ou krémový et des sandále a la moda, achetées dans une butik . Est-ce-que vous allez vous bronzer?, il faut aplikovat' un peu de krém contre les coups de soleil. Malheureusement il n’y a pas beaucoup de magazines qui acceptent un šek, kreditná karta est preferée, bien sûr. Il y a des magazines parmi une bižuteria, ou même pouvoir acheter du dezodorant.

Perdu en ville? Vous ne trouvez pas le barokový palác, le múzeum, fontána, regardez bien la legenda de votre carte karta turisticky. N‘oubliez pas que il y aussi le prezident et son rezendicia est aussi un palác. Politik kampaň, pamflet, kandidat sont aussi des mots des affaires politiques.

Vous avez l‘idée d‘aller a un koncertná sála, l‘opera ou balet, écouter la melodia et regarder la scéna et d‘être parmi le publikum et devant vous il y a le dirigent de l‘orchestre, avec des musiciens qui jouent sur le klavír, čelo et klarinet.

Vous aimez un bon livre, un román ou poézia ou un portrét de quelq’un bien connu . Peut être il y a quelque chose sur la televizia, radio, un bon film, seriály sur une kanal. Après le program, il y une reklama, ou même une repriza d’un match de football.

Pour manger our boire quelque chose, il y a plein de choix parmi un restaurcia, bar, cafe et même bistro. Šalat, kotleta de boeuf avec ryža, špagety, lazane avec du čili ou majonéza, krab ou kreveta avec une sauce avec du margarín. Un dezert de jogurt de kokos ou un kompot d‘ananas. Il y a aussi une servítka. On peut trouver de la nourriture en konzerve et karton. Soif?, Vous aimez un boisson comme un likér? Ou même le vermút, koňak, apertív, koktail ou limonada, čokolada. Boire du džús et víno. Il y a des fruits comme banán ou citrón ou čerešne.

Est-ce-que vous êtes sportif? Un šport comme le tenis, futbal ou atletika?

................................

30 sec lesson - some common mistakes

2010-04-20T21:30:00.004+02:00

~ next to;

~ in addition to; also;

~ difficult to understand, do, to need to a lot of physical or mental effort;

~ almost not/ none,very few;

~ able to read;

~ according to the basic / original meaning of the word;

~ not on time, at the end;

~ very recent or new;

~ in almost every situation, almost every time;

~ (superlative) greatest, nearly all of a group of people/things;

~ (n) an opinion that is given about something;

~ (v) to tell someone what you think s/he should do;

~ without any other person;

~ unhappy because you are not with other people.

Level: Upper-int +

Slavic languages - Saints Cyril and Methodius

2010-04-15T22:57:00.005+02:00

One common fact of life in Central and Eastern Europe is the historical importance of:

Saints Cyril and Methodius.

They are credited for creating an alphabet suitable for the Slavonic language(s), the Glagolitic alphabet. What is not well known is that the two brothers actually started this in Great Moravia, which explains why to this day, St Cyril & St Methodius are commemorated in Slovakia, (in Slovak: Sviatok svätého Cyrila a Metoda), and in the Czech Rep as well, (despite the importance of the Catholic Church and the use of the Latin alphabet).
More information on: The Glagolitic Alphabet.

The Cyrillic alphabet is a descendent from the Glagolitic alphabet. Interestingly enough, the disciples of the two brothers were exiled from Great Moravia and fled into Bulgaria. In Greater Moravia the Slavonic script and liturgy were gradually replaced by Latin (language & alphabet). The Gagolitic alphabet developed into the Cyrillic alphabet as we know now.

The conclusion of this is:

1. The use of the Cyrillic alphabet in parts of Eastern Europe;
2. There is a Saints Cyril and Methodius Day - (Celebrated as a public holiday in the Czech Rep, Slovakia in July and in May in Bulgaria, Rep of Macedonia, Russia).

I hoped that you have enjoyed this rough guide and if you want to know more then please go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_Cyril_and_Methodius

The Night Mail - a poem

2010-04-15T21:24:00.002+02:00

This has to be one of the best poems around in English, notice how the rhythm of the words changes to reflect the steam locomotive travelling along the (railway) track, speeding up and slowing down. Yes, they did rap in the 1930's! But then it was called poetry!

Sing along

2010-04-14T15:48:00.001+02:00

Sing along to this great classic:

Constructed language - Slovio

2010-04-14T15:46:00.001+02:00

Have fun with this one:

http://www.slovio.com/

30 sec lesson - Despite In spite of

2010-04-14T10:50:00.002+02:00

30 sec English lesson - Nouns

2010-04-14T07:48:00.002+02:00

Central East Europe languages links

2010-04-12T19:51:00.003+02:00

[copy and paste hyperlinks] - PLEASE - tell me if there are any dead links or suggest me some new ones to add. Thank you, hvala, d'akujem, merci.

TEFL teachers and others coming out to
Central and Eastern Europe:

Rough guide to the languages

1. Learning the basics of the lingo: (holiday phrases)

Phrases (+mp3 audio): http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/quickfix/

Getting by dialogues:

All: http://langmedia.fivecolleges.edu/lm_collection.html

An overview of the South Slavic textbooks:
http://slavica.com/teaching/Beissinger.html

http://webgerman.com/languages/slavic.htm

2. LINKS

Good language links:
Slavic: http://www.ielanguages.com/links.html#slavic
All: http://www.word2word.com/course.html
All: http://www.digitaldialects.com/ (Interactive online basics)

3. In depth courses:

Cezch: http://www.fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Czech
Hungarian : http://www.fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Hungarian
Romanian: http://www.fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Romanian
No Slovak 
No Polish 
Serbo-Croatian : http://www.fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Serbo-Croatian
Bulgarian: http://www.fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Bulgarian
Russian : http://www.fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Russian

Hungarian:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/a/d/adr10/hungarian.html

Slovene:
http://natalijaverboten.secret-niche.com/slovenian-easy.html

Slovak:
http://www.slovak.com/language/
http://www.heartofeurope.co.uk/dictionary_vocab.htm

Romanian:

http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/learn-romanian-romanian-courses/posts/tag/romanian+lesson/

http://www.romanianlessons.com/

4. Online phrasebooks:

http://www.goethe-verlag.com/book2/
Choose English and choose the learning that you are learning.

5. Bits & pieces:

General grammar: Slavic languages - http://www.seelrc.org/projects/grammars.ptml
Several Slavic languages (no Slovak ) http://odur.let.rug.nl/~houtzage/listen.html
Polish, Romanian and Russian: http://en.bab.la/
Croatian and Serbian learning resources: http://gloss.dliflc.edu/

The Slovak alphabet

2010-04-12T16:24:00.001+02:00

http://www.slavism.com/slovak/abc.htm

Nice webpage with pronunciation guide for English, French, German and Spanish speakers.

Slavic languages - references

2010-04-12T16:05:00.004+02:00

http://www.slavism.com/slavic/

A selection of references is available:

SLOVAK: X
CZECH X
CROATIAN X
SERBIAN X
BULGARIAN X

For a complete list of languages: (Polish, Russian, Bosnian, etc...) CLICK HERE

A guide rough to Slavic languages by chic factor

2010-04-12T15:10:00.003+02:00

A map of where Slavic languages can be found: x

A run down of the some of the languages: (from the how-to-learn-any-language.com website) by chic factors!!!

Russian

Chic factor Speaking Russian fluently is as chic as can be, especially in Western Europe. Russian has the reputation of being very hard (see below) and used to be a subversive language, spoken by revolutionaries and exiled noblemen. Many people in the West do not understand how Russia used to function, and have no clue how it works today. People who speak Russian tend to become clouded with an aura of shade and mystery. If you doubt that speaking Russian is chic, try yelling orders in your cellphone in a restaurant.

Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian, Montenegrian)

Chic factor Serbo-Croatian in itself does not have a high cultural aura such as French or Japanese. People will often wonder why you studied did. Are you from this part of the world? Did you marry there? If you do speak other slavic languages, however, the chic factor appears and you'll be seen as a well-travelled linguist rather than an arms dealer.

Slovak

Chic factor In spite of their connection to Czech culture, Slovakians are distinct and their language is not as well-known to Westerners. Many Slovakians do not regard their language as a major language for foreigners. As such, they will be pleasantly surprised if you take the time to learn some Slovak or tell them that you want to learn Slovak. They will be very tolerant of your mistakes and won't hesitate to help you learn, or if necessary switch to a language that you both know (e.g. English, German) While it may not convey the same sense of mystery or perhaps menace to a Westerner as a knowledge of its linguistic cousin: Russian (think KGB and dominating Soviet Olympic athletes), a knowledge of Slovak is a rather unusual attribute for a Westerner.

Czech

Chic factor Like Hungarian and Budapest, a knowledge of Czech is linked to Prague - that magic destination of a tourist's itinerary. In spite of this association, many Czechs do not regard their language as a major language for foreigners. As such, they will be pleasantly surprised if you take the time to learn some Czech or tell them that you want to learn Czech. They will be very tolerant of your mistakes and won't hesitate to help you learn, or if necessary switch to a language that you both know (e.g. English, German) While it may not convey the same sense of mystery or perhaps menace to a Westerner as a knowledge of its linguistic cousin: Russian (think KGB and dominating Soviet Olympic athletes), a knowledge of Czech is a rather unusual attribute for a Westerner. Perhaps seeing a Czech newspaper headline with its consonant clusters and diacritic marks would strike any English speaker as exotic. ;-)

The Czech ř.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bulgarian, Slovenian, Ukrainian and Polish don't have a CHIC mention on the website :-(!

Close your books!

2010-04-09T15:58:00.000+02:00

Close your books, please! PDF Print E-mail
This activity is a good way of recycling language which the students have learnt from their coursebooks, so it should preferably be done when the coursebook has been completed or towards the end of a course.
Put the students into groups and tell them to close their coursebooks. Give each group a character (eg Jamie Oliver, Quentin Tarantino) or a topic (eg text messaging, family conflicts) that has been dealt with to some extent in the course and that the students enjoyed working on. (Alternatively, give all the groups the same character or topic, but in stage 4 tell each group to use a different form of presentation.) Tell them to discuss and note down all the information they can remember about their person or topic.
Ask the students to prepare a presentation to give to the rest of the class using the information they have assembled. They can choose how they want to make their presentation. It could take one of the following forms:
● a short speech
● a conversation in which two friends are talking about the person/topic
● a debate
● a poster
● a TV interview with an expert on the given Topic
● an article (for a newspaper, for Wikipedia) Tell the students that it is not important that each detail is correct. You could even encourage them to invent details, for example a student could start a conversation about David Beckham saying ‘You’ll never guess who I met at Tom’s party ...’. Since the presentations can take some time, it might be a good idea to get, for example, two groups to present their work to each other. If the groups are large, it may be that not all the group members can be involved in the presentation; in this case you might want to choose the students who present. This activity can be extended to make a miniproject and to give the students more time to research information.
Stefan Rathert
Kahramanmarafl, Turkey

Longman Teaching Tips

2010-04-09T15:52:00.000+02:00

http://www.pearsonlongman.com/teaching-tips/

includes ways to deal with noisy teenagers!

The Great Vowel Shift in English

2010-04-08T22:07:00.003+02:00

Have ever wondered why English can be a bit complicated with the pronunciation of groups of similar words?

The answer is this: THE GREAT VOWEL SHIFT. Some words got changed and some didn't!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift

http://facweb.furman.edu/~mmenzer/gvs/what.htm

the very basics in Slovak

2010-04-07T19:34:00.002+02:00

Beer dialogue - Slovak / English

2010-04-07T18:29:00.002+02:00

The following is a short dialogue when ordering a beer:

A. One beer, please.
A. Jedno pivo, prosím.

B. What kind?
B. Aké?

A. What kind of light beers do you have on tap?
A. Aké svetlé pivá čapujete?

B. For light beers, we have Zlatý bažant, Corgoň, and Kelt.
B. Zo svetlých máme Zlatý bažant, Corgoň a Kelt.

A. Zlatý bažant, please.
A. Zlatý bažant, prosím.

B. Regular or small?
B. Veľké alebo malé?

A. Regular, please.
A. Veľké, prosím.

B. I’ll bring it right away.
B. Hneď to prinesiem.

A. Thank you.
A. D'akujem.

Online exercises and courses

2010-04-06T22:24:00.001+02:00

http://www.supermemo.net/

English and other languages.

Phrasal verbs: HERE

Irregular verbs: HERE

Why bother learning English?

2010-04-06T22:07:00.002+02:00

English is easy to learn

English is not only the most useful language in the world. It is also one of the easiest languages to learn and to use:

* Simple alphabet — no special symbols such as é or ä. Type in sweet, part, film on your computer. Now try
süß (German),
(Polish),

Which is easier?

* Easy plurals — simply add s to a word. One car, five cars; one telephone, two telephones... There are very few exceptions.

* Words are easy to learn. In French, it's la fille and le chien. In German, it's das Mädchen and der Hund. In English, they're just a girl and a dog. And that's all you need to know.

* Short words. Most of the basic words are short: run, work, big, go, man. Long words are often shortened: sitcom = situational comedy, fridge = refrigerator, OS = operating system. Speaking English saves you time. :-)

* Words don't change. But in many languages, one word has many forms:

English: The man is blind.
German: Der Mann ist blind.

English: This is a blind man.
German: Das ist ein blinder Mann.

English: I see a blind man.
German: Ich sehe einen blinden Mann.

* Call everybody "you". You can say "Do you speak English?" to your friend or to your teacher. In other languages, you have to use the right word for the right person. In English, everybody is equal. :-)

* English is everywhere. You can easily access English-language television, music, websites, magazines, etc. You don't have to learn from boring textbooks. You can learn and use your English at the same time. Using your English is especially important because it increases your desire to learn.

And more reasons can be found HERE.

A blog - what do teachers make?

2010-04-06T10:00:00.001+02:00

Ever get frustrated with a teacher?

Ever get frustrated being a teacher?

Good question and a nice article.

Exposure to language - in the Slovak Rep

2010-03-30T21:57:00.003+02:00

I liked this article written about the Western Slavic languages as it confirms my thinking:

More exposure to the target language
increases the capability for understanding it.

In other words, listen, read, speak and write as much as possible!

Read here about the Slovak and Czech languages and the never ending point made by Slovaks to me that they can understand the Czech language quite well.

To be fair, there are a lot of similarities between the two languages, this can be seen by looking at the back of a shampoo bottle or carton of fruit juice.

urban myth - the boat and the cow

2010-03-30T21:11:00.008+02:00

Here is my favourite "urban myth" story.

Is it really a true story?

Please do not read this story if you are fond of cows!
......................................................................................................................................................
Lesson ideas / revision practice:

A. [Good story for Reported/ Indirect Speech practice.] 1. Read the story; 2.Highlight the sentences using reported speech; 3. Now create a dialogue between two people about this story.
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B. [Good story for lesson on the use of 'Articles', yesss, them!] (I know that they don't exist in Slavic languages, but....)... :->
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C. Phrasal verbs (2 word verbs)
Underline the phrasal verbs used in this story. What do they mean?
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D. Story-Telling: How to build up a story, paragraph by paragraph.
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The dazed crew of a Japanese Trawler was plucked out of the Sea of Japan clinging to the wreckage of their sunken ship.

Their rescue, however, was followed by immediate imprisonment once authorities questioned the sailors on their ship's loss. To a man they claimed that a cow, falling out of a clear blue sky, had struck the trawler amidships, shattering it's hull and sinking the vessel within minutes.

They remained in prison for several weeks, until the Russian Air Force reluctantly informed Japanese authorities that the crew of one of its cargo planes had apparently stolen a cow wandering at the edge of a Siberian airfield, forced the cow into the plane's hold and hastily taken off for home.

Unprepared for live cargo, the Russian crew was ill-equipped to manage a now rampaging cow within its hold. To save the aircraft and themselves, they shoved the animal out of the cargo hold as they crossed the Sea of Japan at an altitude of 30,000 feet.

L'équipage d'un chalutier japonais a été arraché de la mer du Japon accrochés à l'épave de leur bateau qui a coulé.

Leur sauvetage, cependant, a été suivie immédiatement d'une incarcération, pendant que les autorités ont posé des questions les marins sur la perte de leur navire. Chaque homme avait dit qu'une vache, qui avait tombé du ciel bleu clair, a frappé le milieu du navire chalutier, brisant la coque et provoquant le naufrage en quelques minutes.

Ils sont restés en prison pendant plusieurs semaines, jusqu'à ce que la force aérienne russe à contrecœur, informé les autorités japonaises que l'équipage d'un de ses avions cargo avait apparemment volé une vache errante au bord d'un aérodrome sibérien, forcée la vache dans la cale de l'avion et prise avec une hâte le chemin du retour.

Avec une manque de préparation pour le fret que vivait, l'équipage russe était mal équipée pour gérer la situation vache déchaînée dans la cale. Pour se sauver l'avion et aussi eux, ils ont poussé l'animal dehors quand ils traversaient la mer du Japon à une altitude de 30.000 pieds.

A way with words

2010-03-30T19:13:00.002+02:00

A way with words

A Way with Words is a lively hour-long public radio show about language, on the air since 1998. Author Martha Barnette and dictionary editor Grant Barrett take calls about slang, grammar, old sayings, word origins, regional dialects, family expressions, and speaking and writing well.

CLICK HERE

EU English :-) !

2010-03-29T10:10:00.003+02:00

NEW ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the EU rather than German which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5 year phase-in plan that would be known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of the"k". This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan have 1 less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like "fotograf" 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be ekspekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent "e"s in the language is disgraseful, and they should go away. By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v". During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.

After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi to understand ech ozer.

Listening - you've got the love

2010-03-28T13:13:00.003+02:00

The original is better!

Sometimes I feel like ............... my hands ............ in the air
I know I can count ......... you
Sometimes I feel like saying "Lord I just don't care"
But you've got the love I need To....... me ............

Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now and then it .......s that life is just too much
But you've .......... the love I need to ....... me ...........

When food is gone you are my daily meal
When friends are ............ I know my savior's love is real
Your love is real

You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love

Time after time I think "Oh Lord what's the use?"
Time after time I think it's just no good
Sooner or ............ in life, the things you love you ............
But you got the love I need to see me ............

You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love
You got the love

English Listening & Reading - Winston Churchill

2010-03-28T11:23:00.002+02:00

One of the things that students should do is to listen, listen and listen to English. Just listen and don't try to understand every single word, just listen to the music of the words!

Click HERE to listen, watch (and read) the famous speech made by Winston Churchill in 1946, where he coined the term "Iron Curtain".

This exercise is for intermediate +.

TEFL conference

2010-03-27T20:52:00.001+01:00

http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2010/

Exam tips - Speaking Part 2

2010-03-24T22:24:00.002+01:00

Speaking Tips

14) Speaking- 1: Don't bother learning speeches and trying to say them verbatim (word-for-word) in interviews; examiners will usually spot this without too much difficulty and mark you down for it. It is very hard to do this and sound natural.

15) Speaking- 2: Do think over your answers to common questions about yourself. This an opportunity for examiners to get a general picture of your language level, especially your ability to talk about past, present and future experiences, so run these thing over in your mind and try to include corresponding verb forms accordingly.

More exam tips from: http://www.usingenglish.com/resources/exam-tips.html


16) Speaking- 3: If you are asked to talk about or describe a photograph, don't get too hung up on describing every visible detail. Instead, be prepared to speak in general terms about it and how the theme it illustrates affects you.

English - What a crazy language!

2010-03-24T22:10:00.001+01:00

CLICK HERE to read this funny article about the English language.

Better English?

2010-03-24T22:00:00.002+01:00

For Advanced students of English:

CLICK HERE to read a good article about taking control of the English language.

How can I speak English better?
How can I communicate better in English?
How can I express myself better in English?
How can I listen to and understand English better?
How can I improve?

Read to Increase your Vocabulary
Using Radio to Listen to and Understand English Better

Slovak English at school

2010-03-24T21:54:00.001+01:00

1. I am absolved from maths.

2. I have a test from maths.

3. I have a teacher of maths.

That's Slovak school English for you!

Can you work out the real and correct way of writing these sentences?

30 seconds lesson - Tell .Say and indirect speech

2010-03-24T21:39:00.001+01:00

The Shipping Forecast -Blur - This is a Low

2010-03-17T19:12:00.004+01:00

Forget about what you learn in your English books about tea, fish 'n' chips, London, (blah, blah), you will discover some of the other "things" that are part of life (psyche & fabric) in Great Britain.

In a previous 'life' (working in the maritime field), the Shipping Forecast was an important part of my life for practical reasons. It can also be considered as one of the cherished icons of Britain.

What is it?

The Shipping Forecast is a four-times-daily BBC radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles.

Why is it an icon of UK society?

The broadcasts are unique in the world, it uses standard weather vocabulary and it is announced in an unique way and follows a very strict format. It is famous for the names of the sea areas around the UK, such as the Humber, Thames.

"A lot of people don't understand the forecast, but to them it sounds like a piece of poetry,"

A map of the sea areas.
(You can also hear the Forecast on this page).

The Shipping Forecast has influenced British culture in many ways, in art, literature and songs. In fact, the Shipping Forecast was read out at the Beijing Olympics.

Another example is the song by Blur - This is a Low.

See how many of the sea areas you can identify in the song.

"This Is A Low"

With some words missing...

And into the sea goes pretty England and me
Around the Bay of Biscay and back for ....
Hit ..... on the dogger bank
Up the Thames to find a ..... rank
Sail ... by with the tide and go .....
And the radio says

[Chorus]
THIS IS A LOW
BUT IT WON'T HURT YOU
WHEN YOU ARE...... IT WILL BE THERE WITH YOU
FINDING WAYS TO STAY ....

On the Tyne forth and Cramity
There's a low in the ....forties
And Saturday's locked .... on the pier
Not fast enough .....
On the Malin head, Blackpool looks blue and red
And the ....., she's gone round the bend
Jumped ... Land's End
And the radio says

[Chorus x 3]

Audio Collection in different languages

2010-03-16T21:55:00.002+01:00

English, Russian, Spanish, Polish, French, Portuguese...

http://swac-collections.org/

Sound files of words in different languages.

EFL ....SPEAKING exams - tips

2010-03-16T20:21:00.004+01:00

1. Don’t waste a lot of your time on worrying about pronunciation of specific words. Spend more time on building up a good range of vocabulary and language structure. If you are worried about pronunciation of some words, check them up online:

http://www.howjsay.com/

http://swac-collections.org/overview.php?lang=eng

Vocabulary:

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

2. Stay calm and be positive! Remember it’s a SPEAKING exam, don’t just say 'Yes' or 'No' to questions during the interview, otherwise the assessor will not be able to mark you.

3. Extend, expand your answers by giving reasons: I like reading books because …..

4. Practice, practice, practice, play word tennis with a partner or your classmates. Find some time to speak to a native speaker, face to face or online.

5. Again, expand your answers, i.e. I live in Bratislava, which is in the south of the country and it is the capital of Slovakia.

6. Talking about yourself is probably one of the hardest things to do. This link might help you to prepare for this part: http://www.autoenglish.org/oralexams/Part1.pdf

What to say? Starting your answers correctly is important! Try to include part of the question in your answer, using ‘SO’at the start of a sentence, is not a good way to start your answer and it will not impress your examiner. If you are stuck, say ‘well’ instead!

Editor's Note: Now, I have provided you with some examples, ok, let me repeat this, this is a selection of words and phrases that you may wish to use during an oral exam. There are a lot of useful resources, videos on You Tube, so don't take my word for it, look around. I have given you some links to look at.

++++++++++++++++++++++

How to give reasons:

Firstly, Secondly, …

The first reason is…

For instance…

For example…

The first advantage / first disadvantage of …

The biggest advantage is…

I can see more advantages than disadvantages …

Another advantage/ disadvantage is…

To describe a picture…

The picture is about…

In this picture, there is a…

In the background,

In the top corner, in the bottom half, in the middle of the picture, there is a, are some…

At the bottom …

To compare and contrast some pictures:

Both pictures show…

The first picture shows… while in the second picture/ other one, ….

In contrast to the first picture, the second picture is…

Speculating about the pictures:

I think the common theme of these pictures is…

Perhaps, the pictures show …

Maybe the reason …

http://www.autoenglish.org/oralexams/exampledescriptions.htm

If giving an opinion on something:

In my opinion, (I think) (I feel) that…

I believe that…

In my view….

It seems to me …

Some people think that… but…

According to some people…

If comparing something: e.g. Life in Slovakia is better than in the UK for the following reasons…

Key words: like, similar to, the same as, more or less the same as, identical to, comparable to, almost the same,

If arguing a point:

I do not agree with this statement because…

I agree with you, but…

Well, to a certain extent yes, but…

Personally, I don’t agree with …

I really disagree with the view taken by….

To finish:

'To sum up ..' ,

To conclude,

To summarize, I ....

.................................................................................................................................................................

More resources:

http://www.ukstudentlife.com/English/Exams/Oral.htm

General information:

http://www.eslgold.com/speaking/phrases.html

30 sec lesson - 7 - conditionals

2010-03-14T17:26:00.005+01:00

Do you really think that a native speaker learns the conditionals the same way as non-native speakers? NO! We don't learn to use conditionals by numbers (0,1,2,3) or by form (present simple, blah blah), we learn them because of the context presented: for real, unreal situations, hypothetical past events & results....

It is real? Did it happen in the past? Is it a hypothetical situation? It is possible? These are the questions that you need to ask yourself.

Let's start with this activity:
CLICK HERE

Look at the worksheet and look at the list of sentences below:
(How would you finish these sentences?) (Think of them as dialogues in the lift).

A. If the lift had broken down earlier, .................................

(Did the lift break down earlier?) no, but I wished it had!

B. If we email the boss, ..........................

(possible, HEY, it's a possibility, isn't it?).

C. If there were a caretaker in the building,....................

(Does the building have a caretaker now?) no, unreal situation, there was no caretaker, there is no caretaker & there will not be a caretaker, dream on!

key:
a. would
b. will
c. we would...

Now, make your own sentences using conditionals.

For an EFL explanation:
http://esl.about.com/od/gramma1/a/conditional.htm

PLEASE feed the fish (es)

2010-03-14T17:01:00.002+01:00

Sometimes the English language can be a foe as well as a friend: take the example of the plural of fish, fishes. Right? Wrong?

Both (fish, fishes) can be used in the plural form. English has a natural affinity for evolving over a period of time, it is a flexible language. The plural 'fishes' is generally used to refer to different types of fish species.

There are 5 fish in the pond. (There is a total of 5 individual fish).

There are over 5 fishes in the river, including trout. (There are 5 different types of fish in the river).

CLICK HERE

Take the next example: one person, many people. BUT! In English, there is also the plural: persons. In this situation, 'persons' is more official than using the word 'people', i.e.

The capacity of the lift/bus is 45 persons.

CLICK HERE

ahhhhhhhhhh G!
I hear you cry.

30 sec lesson - 6 - Come & Go

2010-03-12T10:03:00.000+01:00

30 sec lesson - 5 - Phrasal Verbs pt 1

2010-03-12T09:29:00.000+01:00

30 sec lesson - Four (Prepositions 1)

2010-03-12T09:17:00.000+01:00

Online English visual Dictionary

2010-03-10T16:09:00.000+01:00

Visual.merriam-webster.com

A GREAT resource for teachers and students!!!

There is an index.

The dictionary is also organised into themes from the Earth to communications.

Bonus point is that there is a pronunciation guide as well, so there is no need to struggle with that horrible word, ako sa povie? How do you say?