This site from the BBC is great if you don’t have much time and want to know what’s happening in the world.
You only need one minute and it will certainly help you improve your listening skills.Go to this website http://news.bbc.co.uk/ and then click on the small text which says Watch ONE-MINUTE WORLD NEWS ,as shown in the image.
Hope you like it!!
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I never say “no” when one of my friends phones me to suggest going shopping . I love it!!!
Although I like going shopping a lot I don’t see myself as a shopaholic: I am definitely not a compulsive shopper although I am one of those who sort of view going shopping as a hobby. It helps me relax but I certainly do not spend money I do not have and I am not drowning in debt because of my purchases . Well, this is what I tell my mother every single time she tells me off for wearing new clothes.
Anyway , this is a video from the film Pretty Woman , which I’m sure all of you have seen.
You can do three things:
♦ Just watch and enjoy it
♦ Watch the video and do some exercises Here
♦ Do a whole lesson plan on going shopping Here
And now that we are on the subject what about learning some expressions containing the word shop?
→ talk shop
if people who work together talk shop, they talk about their work when they are not at work
Even when they go out in the evening, they just talk shop all the time.
→go window-shopping 
to go about looking at goods in store windows without actually buying anything.
Joan said she was just going window-shopping, but she bought a new coat.
→shop around (for something)
to shop at different stores to find what you want at the best price.
You can find a bargain, but you’ll have to shop around.
→be like a bull in a china shop
to often drop or break things because you move awkwardly or roughly.
Rob’s like a bull in a china shop - don’t let him near those plants.
I might be wrong but I think that adding some sort of digital content to my classes somehow spices them up. I have tried different slideshows services and so far this is the one I like best . http://www.photopeach.com
♥ It is easy to use
♥ You can add music
♥ You can add a quiz or a caption
My students at pre-intermediate level have been working in the field of “Clothes and Going shopping ” and this is what I have created for them. It is very easy to do.
♥ Upload your photos
♥ Add music
♥ Click on Edit- Edit Caption & Photos
♥ Choose Quiz
♥ Click OK
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This presentation has been sent by Paula Valdés Collazo , a student from the Pre-Intermediate level. Thanks so much for sharing.
Clip de audio: Es necesario tener Adobe Flash Player (versión 9 o superior) para reproducir este clip de audio. Descargue la versión más reciente aquí. También necesita tener activado Javascript en su navegador.
Broken Strings on PhotoPeach
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Fortune telling, palm reading, tarot, physic reading, clairvoyance, onomancy ,numerology,horoscopes and the whole lot. There are countless ways of predicting the future and there are lots of people , even politicians who consult fortune tellers to help them take decisions.One good example is Hillary Clinton ,US Secretary of State.This is said to have happened between the fortune teller and Hillary when she was Senator.
During a recent publicity outing, Senator Hillary Clinton snuck off to visit a fortune teller of some local repute. In a dark and hazy room, peering into a crystal ball, the mystic delivered grave news.
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just be blunt: Prepare yourself to be a widow. Your husband will die a violent and horrible death this year.”
Visibly shaken, Hillary stared at the woman’s lined face, then at the single flickering candle, then down at her hands. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself. She simply had to know. She met the fortune teller’s gaze, steadied her voice, and asked her question.
“Will I be acquitted?”
This is the speech given in class by Olaya Cruz, a student in the Pre-intermediate level. Thank you very much Olaya, it was beautifully done.
“Nothing else matters” is a song written in 1991 by Metallica, a band of Thrash metal. This song is considered the best hit in history of metal ballads.
James Hetfield, vocals and guitar of Metallica wrote this song. It was written when he was talking on the phone with his girlfriend. While he was talking to her, at the same time he was playing the strings of his guitar at random with the other hand. He heard a rhythm that he really loved, so he hang up and started to compose this beautiful song.
James initially wrote this song for his family, for the homesickness because he spent almost all his life in tours and concerts -he says in the song “so close no matter how far”- so he couldn’t dedicate so much time to them
In the beginning he didn’t want to publish this song because he considered it very personal, but Kirk Hammett, another member of Metallica, listened to it and loved it, so finally they decided to include the song in the “Black Album”.
This song was played with the Symphonic Orchestra of San Francisco and it was also played in a concert dedicated to Fredie Mercury when he died.
Since this song has been published a lot of artists, like Apocalyptica, Lucie Silvas and White Raven recorded new versions of the original song.
Nowadays this song is considered, according to James H. a song dedicated to all his fans who fall in love.
When last week I asked my students:
Have you ever put your life at risk? or Have you ever done any extreme sports? I began to wonder whether I’ve ever had .
The truth is I’ve never been an adventurous person; maybe I was a bit more in the past when I was younger. I remember I used to like horror films and talking about paranormal phenomena with my friends. I even played the Ouija Board once or twice and went with some peers to visit a mansion ghost, which was said to live in a house in ruins in my own hometown; but I , at least, was pushing the limits of my own courage although I pretended otherwise .I remember the rush of adrenaline I experienced and the feeling of being amazingly brave. But these can be hardly be named extreme sports although some people would say that playing with the unknown is much worse than risking your life doing bungee jumping or sky diving something ,I know, I’ll never have the guts to try.
Come to think of it, I’ve sometimes put my life at risk like when I hitchhiked in England being only 19, or refusing to cross the road when seeing a gang of punks drinking and I had to walk past.This counts as risky , doesn’t it?
But the maddest thing I’ve ever done was about 10 years ago in the Wagner Bros Park ,in Madrid , when I rode in one of these ride thrill attractions. It was a vertical tower of about 60metres . You are launched up and , believe or not, you take off from your seat and you literally fly before dropping in a breathtaking descent. When I think about it , it still gives me the creeps… Well, I warned you , I’ve never been a thrill seeker!!
And you… Do you live on adrenaline rushes? Are you hooked on the buzz of the extreme?
If you would like to do a lesson on Extreme Sports and Taking Risks , click HERE
2009 has waved goodbye, a new year is starting to blossom and I’m planning to dedicate it my full attention. For a start,I’ve made some New Year’s Resolutions which ,unfortunately, I won’t be sharing with you… I apologize!! …and you , have you made any? Do you want to share them with me or are they too personal, maybe?
Well, for my first class with my advanced students ,I’ve thought that a nice way to link last year with this new one would be this video from Bridget Jones’s Diary, one of my favourite chick flicks. If you’ve seen or read Bridget Jones’s Diary, you’ll know it starts out with her New Year’s resolutions: lists of things she will and won’t do. These are some of them
I Will Not
Waste money on exotic underwear since pointless as have no boyfriend.
Fall for any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobics, chauvinists, freeloaders, perverts.
Have crushes on men, but instead form relationships based on mature assessment of character.
I Will
Go to gym three times a week not merely to buy sandwich.
Learn to program video.
Give all clothes which have not worn for two years or more to homeless.
Not go out every night but stay in and read books and listen to classical music.
Watch the video and then if you feel like going for the whole lesson I have prepared for my students , you’ll find it here . My gratitude to Jeffrey Hill , who gave me the idea.
By the way , the soundtrack is one of my favourites!!
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
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Have you planned your summer holidays yet? Are you in the mood for something different? Weird and even wacky? Are you tired of the conventional hotels everybody goes to? Have a look at these photographs .
These are some of the weirdest hotels you will ever see. But don’t hold your breath ..some of them are very expensive and most of them are fully booked for this summer; so I guess, it must definitely be an experience for some people sleeping in one of those but, trust me on this… you won’t find me there!
Given the chance I don’t know whether it ‘d be easy to choose one of them to spend a nice relaxing holidays. I guess you think it would be a rush of adrenaline sleeping in a cabin hanging from a slender tree but I know for sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink waiting for the branch to crack.
And an underwater hotel… are they paying me???
In my humble opinion ,the Survival Pod Hotel in The Hague, this orange alien-shaped thing, seems to invite people to choose to die if the option is living in these claustrophobic capsules. Can’t imagine having to pay for it!
Some other picturesque pictures show the Das Park Hotel, Ottensheim in Austria and I have to admit that, at least, it has been cheap to build. The idea is that you sleep inside a piece of concrete sewage pipe and guess what?? This is cheap …’cause you pay only what you think they are worth!!
As for me, I’ve always felt an attraction for luxurious hotels where the service is impeccable , the views from the balcony breathtaking, the place a haven of peace and relaxation and the bed as comfortable as a bed should be. I don’t want to spend the night killing cockroaches or freezing to death just to have the time of my life ,thank you very much.
Anway, why this post on Weird hotels? ’cause my students are about to study this lesson and I came across some of these pictures while looking for different things on the web and I prepared a lesson about hotels this morning , which I thought I’d share with you. So, if you are interested ,and you’re not one of my Pre-Intermediate students (we’ll be doing this lesson on Monday, God willing!) Click here .
If you are one of my pre-intermediate students and still want to do something about hotels, you can click here and listen to this postcast about Weird Hotels.
And then watch this video… but don’t expect it to help you with your English!!!
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