Word of the Day: Optimization

 To optimize is to make as perfect, effective, or functional as possible,to make the best of anything.

And this is precisely what this little tool does for your computer to keep it in good shape. It’s called  CCleaner and it might be  one of the best cleaning systems you can find for free.

Its main purpose is to clean any unnecessary files from your hard-drive and on opening the program you can see the various aspects of Windows that you can search through and clear. CCleaner will also detect your installed applications that may hold on to files which are no longer any use, such as Google Earth histories or Flash Player configurations and it’ll allow Windows to run faster while freeing up valuable hard disk space.

There’s even a portable version you can carry around .

Merriam-Webster: online word games

Now that you are on holidays and with plenty of time to spare , do you fancy playing some word games? There are

tons of them in the Merriam-Webster word games ,  from spelling games  to word Sudokus , but my favourite is Scrabble.  Have you ever played this game? I’m sure you have in Spanish, so why don’t you give it a go now in English? It’s highly entertaining  and it’ll help you not to forget English.

Towards the oral exam

The oral exam is just round the corner and I thought it might be a good idea to have a look at some of the posts I have published that can help you revise , improve or practise. Remember the more you practise ,the easier you’ll find it and the more fluent you’ll become. 

vozMe- This converts text into speech. You can type any word and even a text ( use the copy and paste option ;-)  ) and then choose a male or a female voice.( If you want to know my opinion ,  the female voice is clearer). The text will be read to you.
Read the post here

Howjay.com- I just love this dictionary!! You enter the word and you submit it. When it appears in pink , mouse over it to hear it spoken as often as you want. You don’t have to wait a second as it is individually pre-recorded!!
You can translate the word into Spanish or any other language using the Google Translate and then get the definition for the word
Read the post here

Fotobabble- Great to practise picture description. Upload a photo and record yourself describing it. Listen to your own description and work on how to improve it.
Read the post here.

Listen a minute- Want to improve pronunciation and intonation? Dedicate one minute to listening and reading along .
Read the post here

Role-plays- a selection of role-plays for the elementary level aimed at the oral exam.
Click on the photo and it’ll take you there!

 

Related posts:

You’ll never forget how to pronounce “would”

Some help with the Speaking Test … or not?

False friends: embarrassed or embarazada?

Monty Python :Silly Job Interview

Talking Photos: Fotobabble

What a great tool this is!!

The Certificación exam is  just around the corner and bumping into this little tool right now got me thinking whether some things  happen by sheer chance or by  some divine intervention. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with .

Now, as you know , in the oral part of the exam you’ll be asked to describe  a/some picture(s)  in three minutes. Well, here’s a good tool to help you rehearse for this part of the exam. It’s called Fotobabble and it looks promising.

This is what you have to do to use this app:

  • First, sign up. Don’t worry it’s free and it only takes a few seconds.
  • Upload a photo from your computer.
  • Record your voice using a microphone
  • Listen to your recording.

This is quite OK as far as you are concerned but I’d like to see what you are doing , so why don’t you send me your fotobabbles ? No idea how to do it ? Click on the link below and in  a video and in Spanish I’ll explain it all to you. No excuses now!!

http://www.screencast.com/users/cristinacd/folders/Jing/media/a9ed9e6f-4356-468f-82d9-8c10558a9a8b


Google Set Labs: a language-based experiment

This little tool by google called Google Set Labs has lots of potential . It helps you to produce sets of items from a few examples so if you write a few items from a list of things it automatically creates  a list of items from the same group.

I’ve decided to try with sports and personality adjectives and I wrote a few related-words as you can see from the pictures  below

Then , you can choose whether you want to a large set or a smalll set and it produces a massive list of words related to this area. It’s great for teachers to try to predict what sort of words related to a topic might be used in class and also great for students to try to extend their vocabulary.

Want to have a go at it??

Another cool site to watch videos: Watchmojo

This is one of my favourite sites to see and use videos for my students. It’s called watchmojo  and here you can enjoy free short clips in a wide variety of categories  such as Automotive, Education, Fashion, Film, Food, Gambling, Health, Music, Politics & Economy, Space, Sports, Technology and Travel.

I have chosen a video about how social media can affect relationships to show you some of its contents.  Ready to do some listening practice??

What to learn: a funny way to revise

I have found this site only today http://www.what2learn.com/  and I can’t wait to share it with you. It has lots of interactive exercises although most of the published games won’t be of any use to you as they deal with Maths, History and some other subjects.
But it has some games devoted to spelling and this is where you can do a lot of practice. I especially like the game  below these lines because it trains your ears too. If you feel it’s too easy for you , you can always click here and choose a harder level or play hangman or whatever you fancy.

 

This site also allows me to create my own interactive games and I’ve decided to try the hangman game first and see what it looks like….  awesome!!! Come on ..what are you waiting for??? Play the game  and guess the word before Grandma is abducted by aliens..  Target language : Sports. Level: Pre-intermediate


Unusual Sports

Victory belongs to the most persevering. Napoleon Bonaparte

There are no gains without pains. Adlai Stevenson

These inspirational quotes are  aimed at people who need some sort of encouragement when finally and after years of putting off taking up some kind of exercise they have finally decided  to come to terms with the acute necessity our body seems to have for some sort of physical activity.

 Couch potatoes are not trendy but let’s face it ,going to the gym doesn’t guarantee a six pack, flat abs and a tight butt . In fact, if you are thinking that by overworking your body you’re going to look like Naomi Campbell or Hugh Jackman , you’ll soon give up. Engaging in sports activities like tennis, football and even walking for an hour or so  will keep you interested for a longer time . But if you find these sports too boring or too conventional , why don’t you try any of these ??

Pancake Racing : In which each participant carries a pancake in a frying pan. All the runners must toss their pancakes as they run and catch them in the frying pan.

Welly/Wellie wanging or throwing - A freestyle sport that originated in Britain, most likely in the county of Yorkshire. Competitors are required to hurl a Wellington boot as far as possible within boundary lines, from a standing or running start. Each player has three throws, the longest distance thrown within the zone wins. Note that the word wellie is also often spelt as welly.

Wheelbarrow and Straw Bale Race - Each player in the team races over 50 yards with 4 straw bales on the barrow, then tosses the bales over a 6ft height bar. The quickest team wins.

 Cheese-Rolling - During the annual Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake, competitors race down a steep hill in Gloucestershire, attempting to catch a Double Gloucester cheese which has been set rolling from the top. Often this results in many injuries.

Haggis hurling or throwing - A Scottish game involving, yes you guessed it, throwing a haggis. Modern Haggis Hurling is judged on the basis of distance and accuracy of the throw (hurl) and a split or burst haggis is immediately disqualified, as the tradition dictates that the haggis must be fit to eat after landing, yummy. The sport requires subtle technique rather than brute force, as the hurl must result in a gentle landing to keep the haggis’ skin intact. Despite it’s eccentricity, the practitioners take the sport seriously, with a World Haggis Hurling Championship. Haggis Hurling was even supposed to be presented as a demonstration sport at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Plans to use a fake haggis in a hurling competition at a Highland festival in Melbourne have split the purists from those who are fearful of the mess a high-speed impacting example of Scotland’s national dish may cause (see Haggis gets a bashing from fakes). It is unclear to the uninitiated if the sport promotes the enjoyment of this often maligned delicacy (to which a famous ode of praise was once composed by Robbie Burns himself). According to a Canadian source that disapproves the practice as insensible, the haggis is the main event at the annual Burns Night celebrations held by Scots and Scottish wannabees the world over.

Now , have a look at this diagram you have helped me build with your contributions  during the lesson. I have used a tool called Gliffy, which I recommend since it’s free.



Cooking Party

A superbig thank you to you all , You really helped make the party a big success with about 100 dishes !!

Online newspapers

Sadly, and this is just my personal opinion, fewer people are reading the print papers. I know that some people call them the “dead tree edition” but I still want to retain some of the old ways. I can’t think of many things as pleasurable as having my midmorning cup of coffee sitting at a café terrace relaxing under the spring sun enjoying a juicy piece of news,can you? I know going online would be great for the environment but… I can’t help being a bit selfish here !

And you, so you still read newspapers or have you already moved on line??

 

If you are one of those who prefer reading online , let me show you a place I’ve found great for reading newspapers online.It is called The Paper Boy and here you can search for online newspapers by country,title,city…etc

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