British English Links

Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary

2011-12-15T11:13:00.001+01:00

http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/
A great dictionary available online and in book form!

I have a copy with the CD.

I recommend that whatever English learning books you buy, if there is the option, buy the one with the CD. The difference in price is usually small and being able to access this quality dictionary, with pronunciation and phonetic symbols, when not online, is a great advantage.

Have a look at The Oxford 3000™ word list.

This is taken from the online version:

The keywords of the Oxford 3000™ have been carefully selected by a group of language experts and experienced teachers as the words which should receive priority in vocabulary study because of their importance and usefulness.

Understand meanings—entries are written using only the Oxford 3000 key words

These 3000 words are listed alphabetically WITH their pronunciation!

The two Ronnies 'Fork Handles'

2011-11-24T08:14:00.000+01:00

I like You Tube!

I use it for personal use for listening to music but it is also useful for English learning.

There are lots of videos abour learning English, some of which are excellent, but I'm using it to find closed caption videos. These are videos with subtitles/captions and maybe a transcript as well.

This is one of my all-time favourite TV moments and I'm so pleased that it's got both subtitles and the transcript.
It's all about misunderstandings in spoken English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnt2B9YmZxo

Podcasts

2011-11-24T08:09:00.000+01:00

Podcasts are a useful way to practise English.
Here's just one site.
I'll post more when I have some free time!

http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts.htm

How do YOU pronounce these words?

2011-11-23T10:33:00.000+01:00

Language is always evolving!

Here are some British people saying 'mischievous', 'says', 'ate' and the letter 'h'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11642588

The correct pronunciation of the words:

mischievous /ˈmɪstʃɪvəs/

says /sez/

ate /et/ or /eɪt/ (both are correct)

letter 'h' /eɪtʃ/

Spain as seen by the BBC

2011-11-19T06:32:00.000+01:00

The following articles from the BBC are about the crisis and the elections.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15783960

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15734280

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15743182
The 3rd article has a short video.

The reasons why people wear a poppy

2011-11-12T22:58:00.000+01:00

Many more people learning English will now be aware of the custom of wearing poppies due to the furore over England players wearing poppies.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/nov/09/england-poppies-armbands-fifa-compromise?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

Here is an article in Spanish about the reason why poppies are worn at this time of year.

http://www.revistavanityfair.es/articulos/que-significa-el-broche-de-pippa-kate-y-mel-c/15762

Here's a lnk to a blog written by two Spaniards who have been living in London since May this year.

http://www.fromspaintouk.com/2011/11/09/remebrance-day-el-dia-de-las-amapolas/

'Retweet' and 'woot' make Oxford dictionary debut

2011-08-19T20:21:00.000+02:00

Language is always changing!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14588727

Pukkelpop festivalgoers killed as stages collapse

2011-08-19T19:30:00.000+02:00

A sad day in Belgium

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14585323

Is Barcelona being spoilt by tourists?

2011-07-12T15:59:00.000+02:00

An interesting view of Barcelona.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/fast_track/9533632.stm

Catchphrases

2011-06-18T11:47:00.003+02:00

Definition

http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/dictionary/catchphrase

Some catchphrases have been around for a long time whilst others have come into use more recenlty.

One of my favourites which I use with children is

'See you later, alligator

After a while/in a while crocodile'

It's a great way for Spanish children to learn to say crocodile!

The origins of the catchphrase

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

The song and lyricshttp://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/bill_haley_and_the_comets/see_you_later_alligator.html

More homophones and silly sentences!

2011-06-15T09:47:00.001+02:00

Homophone - http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/homophone

I'll walk down the aisle with my father when I get married.
We'll have to change the wheel, we've got a puncture!
Our classes last one hour.
He knows his nose is ugly
We're having a picnic by a weir.

I found weir quite difficult to translate into Spanish as the word I meant, so here is an image of a famous weir in Bath, England

http://tinyurl.com/5rlap6x

There are plenty more of these sentences to come!
Coming soon - sentences containing the short 'a' /æ/ and 'u' /ʌ/ sounds

Quirky news

2011-06-15T08:38:00.001+02:00

It's good to read something that's not about conflicts, politics or the economy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313

Spain in the news, week commencing Monday, 23rd May,

2011-05-27T10:06:00.000+02:00

I have several pages open at a time when I'm on the internet. I get up to date news from the BBC, El Pais and Diario Sur (Málaga edition).

This week two items about Spain caught my eye.

This video report is interesting for two reasons.

Firstly, for the information it provides.

Secondly, for listening to a Spanish guy who has an excellent command of English but whose pronunciation could be better.

Inside Madrid's protest camp in Puerta del Sol square

The second report also has a couple of videos to watch.

The reporter, Ramon Goni speaks excellent English without a discernible accent.

Strawberry boom is a drain on Spain

For more information about Ramon Goni go to

Ramon Goni, cinematographer, reporter, director

Idioms I use

2011-05-14T09:57:00.001+02:00

You may have noticed I've linked Twitter to my blog.

It occurred to me that as a native speaker of English, with I believe an extensive vocabulary, some of the phrases and idioms I use might be worth explaining.

Today I've written 'A list as long as your arm to do!'

There are slight variations like MY arm or SOMEONE'S arm.

It means VERY long and refers to a list of something.

Here are some links!

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/arm

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/a-list-as-long-as-your-arm

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+list+as+long+as+arm

http://english-learners.com/2010/07/idioms-most-frequently-used-in-conversation.html

First Certificate in English (FCE)

2011-04-30T21:21:00.000+02:00

This internationally well-known exam seems to be growing in popularity. Previously I hadn't found that many links but I found many more in a recent search.

The best one appears to be

http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/

Here are several others that might be useful

http://www.examenglish.com/FCE/index.php

This link explains in detail the exam format and gives the exam dates for 2011 and 2012.

http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/general-english/fce.html

There is an excellent PDF file with a lot of useful information.

http://www.candidates.cambridgeesol.org/cs/digitalAssets/121063_fce_infoforcand_dec08_E.pdf

This site is useful for candidates.

http://www.candidates.cambridgeesol.org/cs/http://www.candidates.cambridgeesol.org/cs/

There are free sample tests on this site

http://www.itests.com/xg/editorial/public/about/9

Charla/tapeo bilingüe - now TWICE a week!

2011-04-28T08:26:00.000+02:00

¡NUEVO!

Desde HOY, jueves el 28 de abril, DOS oportunidades a asistir a ‘charla/tapeo bilingüe’

JUEVES, desde 19.30 Y DOMINGO, desde 12.00 de mediodía

Bar La Plaza, Villanueva Del Trabuco

¡Os necesitamos!

Abierto a todos que quieren practicar inglés.

April Fool's Day

2011-04-03T03:06:00.000+02:00

On each 1st of April reports appear on British TV and in the press that turn out to be jokes.

Perhaps the most famous report was the one about spaghetti trees!

Read about it here
http://projectbritain.com/year/aprilfools.html

Watch it here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27ugSKW4-QQ

This link is about 10 strange things that are actually true!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12932108

You can read more about each story in a variety of British newspapers.

Words associated with April Fool's Day are hoax and prank.
How would you translate those in your language?

SOY LOGOPEDA - very interesting and well presented.

2011-03-09T20:12:00.001+01:00

Why I haven't added any links recently

2011-02-13T18:15:00.003+01:00

I'm very busy teaching primary school children 4 afternoons a week at the local school and this term I'm teaching 2 more hours there.
The extra hours are for 4º 5º and 6º children to start learning the phonetic alphabet and use a monolingual dictionary.
I hope to return to posting regularly on my blog very soon!

I'll be posting a few links soon especially for a student who needs to improve her listening skills
I hope you find them useful too!

A perfect day!

2011-01-14T10:34:00.000+01:00

I love this song and I really love this version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJpQJWpVJds&feature=player_embedded

And guess what?

There's a listening exercise you can do with it!

http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/muisc-lesson-perfect-day

ough and ought ending words

2011-01-03T22:10:00.000+01:00

It's hard to believe that words ending in ough and ought can have EIGHT different pronunciations!
This exercise uses 5 of the 8 pronunciations.
http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/resources/games/ough-UK.htm
Here is a list of SOME of these words, which I consider you are most likely to encounter.
although
bough
bought
brought
cough
dough
drought
enough
fought
hiccough
nought
ought
plough
rough
sought
thorough
though
thought
through
tough
trough
It's worth putting them into groups by pronunciation, AND writing the phonetics for the complete words.

Make and do

2011-01-03T19:57:00.000+01:00

More quizzes!
These PDF files have the answers on the 2nd page so only print the 1st pages until you have done the exercises.
http://www.englishbanana.com/make-or-do-1-ig4.pdf
http://www.englishbanana.com/make-or-do-2-ig5.pdf

Make and Do

2010-12-19T23:01:00.007+01:00

These two verbs are used in many English phrases.

They can be confusing!
Here's an explanation with a quiz at the end.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv2.shtml

Here are more quizzes with online answers

http://www.better-english.com/grammar/makedo.htm

http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/103.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/youmeus/quiznet/newquiz111.shtml

This is a short listening, an explanation of make and do and a quiz.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode113/index.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode113/languagepoint.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode113/quiz.shtml
http://www.english-online.org.uk/games/makeordo.htm

TIP
I suggest you make a written two column list of the main expressions using make and do.

When you encounter another expression which isn't on the list, add it.

certain words ending in sure and sion

2010-12-11T11:22:00.007+01:00

I have a friend studying That's English! Basic Level.

I was pleased to see that pronunciation is included in the book!

I looked at one page where a few words that had to be sorted into two groups.

One group had the /ʃ/ sound and the other the /ʒ/ sound.

The /ʃ/ sound is common so it's easy to show example words but the /ʒ/ sound is not so easy to find. As far as I know, the /ʒ/ sound only ever appears within a word and never at the beginning or the end.

Many of these words have a sure or sion ending.

Here are some examples. There are others but these are ones you are more likely to see/use.

ending in sure:-

closure, composure, disclosure, displeasure, enclosure, exposure, leisure, measure, pleasure, treasure.

ending in sion:-

collision, conclusion, corrosion, decision, errosion, exclusion, explosion, incision, inclusion, intrusion, invasion, persuasion, revision, supervision, television, transfusion, vision.

Note - Words ending in ssion do not have the /ʒ/ sound.

There's nowt as queer as folk!

2010-12-05T20:49:00.002+01:00

The expression 'there's nowt as queer as folk' is from the north of England.
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=104505

This news item is a good illustration of this phrase!

999 is the number to use in emergencies only.
The woman reporting the theft has an unattractive accent!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-11908583

Charlas Bilingües - relaunched!

2010-12-05T20:31:00.000+01:00

If you live in or near Villanueva del Trabuco why not join us for an informal chat on Sundays from 12.00 midday.
We meet every Sunday, including holidays, to chat in Spanish and English.
Currently we have more English speakers than Spanish speakers so we need to improve the balance.
Some weeks we'll have a topic such as the weather, favourite city etc.
STOP PRESS!
I've just set up a facebook group. It's called Charlas Bilingües, Villanueva del Trabuco

In the news today

2010-12-04T13:52:00.000+01:00

I use certain websites every day.

For news in English I use and for news in Spanish I use a local paper, Diario Sur.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

The headline at the moment is

Spain in 'alert' over air chaos

Apologies

2010-12-04T12:34:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry that I haven't added anything since October 25th.
The main reason is because I was approached by AMPA at the end of October to teach children in the local colegio in the afternoons.
Originally, the school wanted me to assist in the English classes during the morning which would have been fantastic! Not only the children, but the English teachers would have benefitted from hearing English spoken by a native person. However, it wasn't to be, as the school inspector from the Diputacion said it wouldn't be allowed, even though the cost of the classes would be borne by the parents. Once AMPA were informed of this I was contacted by them and as they say, 'the rest is history'!
I use a classroom at the school and teach 4 afternoons, 7 hours a week there. I teach children as young as 4 and as old as 12, in groups of between 8 and 14 children of similar age where possible.
The administration of these classes has taken up a lot of my time but with this long 'puente' or 'acueducto' I hope to post some new items.
Watch this space!

The Official School of Languages, Laredo

2010-10-25T00:09:00.000+02:00

This is an excellent series of videos making it clear why phonetics and good pronunciation are important.

They are done in an amusing way!

This is the first one.

http://www.vimeo.com/7782905

Here are links to the others, in order.

http://www.vimeo.com/8667043

http://www.vimeo.com/9853569

http://www.vimeo.com/12108163

http://www.vimeo.com/12198840
If you want to know a bit about Laredo here's the English entry in Wikipaedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laredo,_Cantabria

Adjectives describing appearance - another exercise

2010-10-18T00:20:00.000+02:00

This exercise is from one of my favourite sites, BBC Learning English.
Don't print page 1 as it's just the title page and print page 2 before you do the exercise as the answers are on page 3!
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/quiznet/pdfs/17_vocab_appearances.pdf

6 Minute English - Reading the classics

2010-10-18T00:15:00.000+02:00

Another excellent podcast from my favourite site!
From this page you can download the text and the audio recording.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2010/10/101014_6min_classics_page.shtml

This look interesting!
YouTube drive to 'crowd-read' Spain classic Don Quixote
I wonder if any of you will sign up to record a section of this classic!

Adjectives for describing appearance

2010-10-17T23:53:00.000+02:00

This is a good list of adjectives to describe appearance.
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/exercises/grammar/adjectives/appearance/vocab1.html

I like it because it explains which adjectives are impolite to use and gives alternatives.
I quote:-
Important note: be careful using negative adjectives when commenting on a person's appearance, as some people may be very offended by them! In most situations it is safer to use a neutral or positive adjective (for example slender instead of thin, large instead of fat).
There are some gap fill exercises but they are very simple.
However, the matching quizzes are good.
Make sure you've studied the list of adjectives first, though!
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/exercises/grammar/adjectives/appearance/synonyms/wordmatch.html
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/exercises/grammar/adjectives/appearance/antonyms/wordmatch.html

Silent letters!

2010-10-14T15:37:00.001+02:00

I spend a lot of time on the internet looking for resources to use in class and to post on this blog.

However, this site is one I've been using for quite a while in class and I hope you find useful.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/soundandspell/silentletters/index.shtml

You can print out the factsheet and learn the words in the list, most of which are common words.

Then do the game at three levels and then the quiz, again at three levels.

Finally you can print out the worksheet/crossword.

What is Skillswise?

Skillswise aims to help adults improve their reading, writing and maths skills.

You may find other activities on this site that will help improve your English!
I suggest you look at the activities in the word section and the games.

To be or not to be - Shakespeare's Hamlet

2010-10-07T11:53:00.000+02:00

Sam West is an English actor from a well-known acting family.

He has appeared in the theatre, films and on TV. He is also a theatre director.

His father, Timothy West, is also a stage, film and TV actor.

His mother, Prunella Scales is famous for her role as Sybil in Fawlty Towers, a classic TV comedy series made in the 1970's.

This article is about a famous soliloquy spoken by Hamlet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11370834

In the video Sam West interprets the speech in several different ways.

He speaks clearly and reasonably slowly.

I hope you enjoy the article and the video.

Five minutes with:

2010-10-03T12:45:00.000+02:00

These 5 minute interviews are a good way to hear different types of voices, not just accents.

I have some favourite voices that I hope to post here in the future.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8522608.stm

Here's an interview with Dr. Brian Cox inThe Daily Mirror, a popular newspaper without much news!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/04/04/i-m-the-liam-gallagher-of-physics-115875-22160638/

British newspapers and magazines online

2010-10-03T12:44:00.001+02:00

To increase your vocabulary try reading some newspapers and magazines.

This site lists many national and regional newspapers as well as some magazines.

The newspapers have been categorised as heavyweight (quality in depth reporting), mid-market (news stories and entertainment) and red-tops (not much news, lots of celebrity gossip and crime reporting).

The site also lists business and trade publications which cover businesses like hospitality and trades like plumbing.

http://www.britishpapers.co.uk/

2010-09-16T00:35:00.000+02:00

I am so pleased that Rafa Nadal won the US Open.
His English has improved since this was recorded.
I love the poem, the music, Roger and Rafa's voices!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is-JCJCUy18

Here are the lyrics in English.
http://www.businessballs.com/ifpoemrudyardkipling.htm

Here is a video in Spanish.

http://www.gogeometry.com/geometric_art/video_if_kipling_spanish_version.htm

Here is Harvey Keitel, an American actor, reading the poem with a Spanish translation on the link below the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=url4mfAAYdE

La Chispa magazine

2010-09-14T00:28:00.000+02:00

There's an excellent bilingual magazine about alternative living available on line and at various outlets, mainly in Málaga province.
Here's the latest edition.
http://www.lachispa.net/admin/images/magazines/pdf_files/Mag-50.pdf

Fiestas Patronales, Villanueva del Trabuco, Málaga

2010-09-12T00:47:00.000+02:00

I'm sorry that there haven't been any postings since September 1st.

Now my village is celebrating it's annual Fiestas Patronales and I'm spending a lot of time enjoying the events and videoing some of them.

In a few days time there will be some of these videos here.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=08004878BBFDB445

In pictures:Tango World Championship

2010-09-01T20:26:00.000+02:00

I love the photos from this competition.

Make sure you click 'show captions' as each photo has a few words underneath the picture.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11152136

The alphabet

2010-08-30T13:10:00.073+02:00

If you are a student in Spain you will soon be thinking of returning to school or university.
If you don't already know the English alphabet, here is a fun link to learn it NOW.

http://clicknlearn.net/

To access the site:-
Click 'enter site'
choose English
Roll your mouse over 'open'
There's a user guide in Spanish
Choose menu to access the units.
click on 1º ESO
click on lexicon
click on alphabet
When you are happy thart you recognise the letter names and can also say the names stop doing the exercise.
*Revise it a few days later using 1º ESO click on 'easy', click on alphabet.

suggestions

Use headphones if possible or choose a quiet place to listen.
Remember to search labels to find all the postings containing the word alphabet.
*If you don't get a good score go back to learning the alphabet in the lexicon section.

Can Mourinho make a difference to Real Madrid?

2010-08-25T22:43:00.000+02:00

Autumn in the northern hemisphere will soon be here!

The football season has started in England and Scotland and this weekend the season starts in Spain.

Here's a blog written by an Englishman, Phil Minshull, who writes mainly about what's happening in the Spanish Liga.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philminshull/2010/08/can_mourinho_make_a_difference.html

2010-08-21T20:07:00.000+02:00

Here's another quiznet.

This time it's about expressions with food.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=124_food_expressions

2010-08-21T19:35:00.007+02:00

So what do you know about biscuits?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1519_biscuits

It doesn't matter if you don't know the answers, after all, you are learning English.
Even native speakers wouldn't know all the answers.

I did the quiz and I got nº 5 wrong!
I got nº 5 correct at the second attempt.

Odd Box - Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T12:21:00.000+02:00

Yet more strange videos from around the world!
My favourites this week are the swimming pool in the dumpster (American English), skip (British English) and the naked roller coaster riders.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/10960157

And now some questions for you!

video 10 Budhha

approximately how many people cleaned the Buddha?

video 9 Pirates

How many pirates broke the world record?

video 8 Art

Which country is the sculptor from?

video 7 Naked art

What did the black figures represent?

video 6 Pig noises

Where did the pig squealing competition take place?

video 5 Man in a dress

Which city does the man in a dress represent?

video 4 Babies!

Which days did the sisters have their babies?

video 3 Swimming pool

What exact words did the second girl say?

video 2 Swimming dogs

What word did Tulip, the presenter, use for dog?
video 1 Rollercoaster
How many people took part?

Why not send me your answers?

The River Thames

2010-08-13T10:40:00.000+02:00

Many Spanish students visit London and during their stay see the River Thames.

This report is about a sophisticated survey that is being done of the bottom of the river.
The man without the glasses has an Irish accent , possibly a Dublin accent.
The man in the pink shirt has a London accent.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10960603

BBC learning English - Ask about English

2010-08-12T18:06:00.001+02:00

This is the place where students ask questions about English.

The most recent replies are available as both text and audio files.

The speaker, Gareth Rees, speaks clearly and slowly.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/askaboutenglish/2010/08/100810_aae_likely.shtml

There are many topics of English covered in this section.

However, it is only the newest questions that have both text and audio files.

Previously, the questions had audio files and the oldest files of all only had written answers.

The oldest files are in the section known as 'Learn it' and you can see a list of what is available here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/

Here is the archive for Ask about English.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/askaboutenglish/
If you can't find YOUR question why don't you ask it?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/askaboutenglish/

The Tears of San Lorenzo

2010-08-12T17:14:00.004+02:00

I hope the sky will be clear tonight for the peak of the perseid meteor shower but I doubt that I will see much.

A few years ago the town hall installed floodlights on the roofs of the houses in the highest part of the village. These lights are directed to the pine trees immediately behind my house. During summer we rarely see a dark sky because of them.

SO, if you live in the northern hemisphere and can be somewhere without much artificial light, enjoy the display!
http://blog.hostelbookers.com/travel/perseid-meteor-shower/

Humour can be international

2010-08-10T22:54:00.007+02:00

Nothing to do with learning English but I wanted to share these amazing cartoons with you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q
This is the first cartoon of Simon's cat which I first saw two years ago.
Since then I've waited impatiently for more and can't wait for the next cartoon to appear.
Here's the channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
Enjoy!

2010-08-06T13:26:00.010+02:00

Whilst I was looking for videos to post, I came across (found) two things about an amazing old English gentleman.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8664333.stm

The reporter, Orla Guerlain, is from Dublin. People from Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic usually pronounce the letter 'r' much more strongly than English and Welsh people. Compare how the major and Orla prounce 'r'. Can you hear the difference?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-10809202
This is good for listening to as Geoffrey Langlands speaks clearly and slowly.
The scenery is stunning!

The Chitral valley, where the school is, has been badly affected by the monsoons that are causing chaos in Pakistan.

It's Odd Box

2010-08-06T12:03:00.013+02:00

Ten odd videos from around the world!
Every Friday the BBC publishes ten more.
In this week's Odd Box my favourites are rare white tiger cubs, kite flying in Gaza, a seven-year-old painter and a miniature fairground.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/10888427

Why this blog is written in English

2010-08-04T10:44:00.001+02:00

To improve in any foreign language you have to THINK in that language. Everybody says it's difficult and that is true at the beginning, BUT it does get easier! The key is to THINK in English as much as possible. When I didn't have the opportunity to speak Spanish for many years, I made myself THINK in Spanish. Maybe a list of things I had to do, maybe looking at things in a room and saying them in my head. It sounds crazy but it works!
So start thinking in English and see the difference it can make!

10 things we didn't know last week

2010-07-30T01:59:00.000+02:00

Did you know any on these things?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2010/07/10_things_we_didnt_know_last_w_143.shtml
Y

Conversation classes using Skype

2010-07-22T23:58:00.020+02:00

I am now offering conversation classes using Skype!

All you need is a webcam, headphones/speakers, a microphone and commitment.
30 minutes - 6 euros
45 minutes - 8 euros
60 minutes - 10 euros
At the moment classes are only available to people living in the European Union.
Please contact me for more details.

World Champions!

2010-07-13T00:02:00.000+02:00

Congratulations Spain!

Archived News about Britain

2010-07-10T09:50:00.002+02:00

I used to use these news reports a lot with students because of the activities.
The earliest one with activities appears to be Wimbledon 2006.
All in all, (a fin de cuentas) there are 30 texts you can do with activities.
Activities include wordsearches, themed idioms, matching exercises, reading quizzes etc.
Beware!
The last page of each pdf contains the answers so don't print this until you're ready to check your answers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/newsaboutbritain/

One of my favourites is this one about Boris Johnson, the London mayor!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/britain/080520_london_new_mayor.shtml
Here's a quiz about Boris Johnson
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1119_boris

6 minute English

2010-07-08T23:40:00.002+02:00

The BBC Learning English website is one of my favourites because of the quality and variety of the content.
6 minute English are weekly podcasts with a wide range of subjects in an archive going back to 2009. So there are plenty of opportunities for you to practise listening skills, pronunciation and vocabulary!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/
You can hear the report and the vocabulary in bold on each page
OR
you can choose to download and save them.
I would love to know which podcasts you like best so please become a member of my blog and make a comment,

Life in the UK - a series of video listening comprehension exercises

2010-07-07T19:34:00.006+02:00

I've chosen to add this one as the example as Bristol was my home for many years.
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/lifeintheuk/bristol/videoquiz.html
You must watch the video about Banksy who comes from Bristol!
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/lifeintheuk/britart/banksy-videoquiz.html

There are videos for other cities including -

Bath, Belfast, Cambridge, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle.

You can access them from any city page e.g.

http://www.esolcourses.com/content/lifeintheuk/bristol/videoquiz.html

Rafa!

2010-07-07T18:47:00.009+02:00

If like me you are a tennis and a Rafa fan, you might like this.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2010/07/100705_witn_wimbledon.shtml
You can read and hear the report and the vocabulary in bold
OR
download and save all 3

There are lots more of these listenings here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/

They are excellent for improving vocabulary, listening skills and pronunciation.

World Cup 2010 - "Waka Waka", by Shakira

2010-07-07T17:46:00.003+02:00

And finally this one!
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/songs/world-cup/shakira-waka-waka.html

Official South Africa World Cup Song: "Sign of a Victory" By R.Kelly

2010-07-07T17:44:00.003+02:00

Here's another gap-fill exercise using yet ANOTHER World Cup song!
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/songs/world-cup/official-south-africa-world-cup-song.html

K'Naan Waving flag

2010-07-07T17:40:00.003+02:00

It's a bit late as the World Cup is over but if you like the song you might like to do this gap fill exercise.
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/songs/world-cup/world-cup-song-quiz-wavin-flag.html

Third conditional online exercises

2010-05-23T22:05:00.006+02:00

And here are a few third conditional exercises!
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/StudyZone/410/grammar/3cond1.htm
The following exercise can't be done online but you can check the answers are online.
To print the exercise, right click anywhere in the exercises area.
Print page one for the exercise.
Go back to the website after you've done the exercise for the answers.
http://www.fiestaesl.com/cond3.html

Second Conditional online exercises

2010-05-23T19:14:00.007+02:00

Here are a few links to second conditional exercises.

I hope to find some more in the future.

http://www.better-english.com/grammar/secondconditional1.htm

http://www.better-english.com/grammar/cond2.htm
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/secondconditional/exercise1.swf
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/secondconditional/exercise7.html
http://www.isabelperez.com/conditionals1.htm

First conditional online exercises

2010-05-20T22:41:00.010+02:00

You need to practise what you learn so here are some online exercises for the first conditional.

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/firstconditional/exercise1.html
http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/firstconditional/exercise2.html

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/firstconditional/exercise3.html

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/firstconditional/exercise4.html

http://www.english-grammar-lessons.com/firstconditional/exercise1.swf

http://www.english-grammar-lessons.com/firstconditional/exercise2.swf

http://www.english-grammar-lessons.com/firstconditional/exercise3.swf

http://www.english-grammar-lessons.com/firstconditional/exercise4.swf

http://www.english-grammar-lessons.com/firstconditional/exercise5.swf

The conditionals

2010-04-29T23:05:00.017+02:00

Here is a good explanation in Spanish of the 1st 2nd and 3rd conditionals.
hhttp://www.ejerciciodeingles.com/expresar-condicion-ingles/

Learn English through music

2010-04-19T20:25:00.003+02:00

I personally know three Spanish students who listen to English language songs and they ALL speak English well!
The main advantages are:-
you improve your listening skills which will help you with listening to conversations and dictations!
you learn vocabulary
you have a common interest with English speaking music fans.
Here's a site that helps as the songs are subtitled AND some of them have gap-fill exercises!
http://www.subingles.com/

Another useful monolingual dictionary

2010-04-17T19:59:00.004+02:00

Here's another dictionary to try online!
This one has the useful feature of clearly showing the number of syllables.
http://www.ldoceonline.com

One of my favourite sites but it's not about learning English!

2010-04-08T21:54:00.003+02:00

I send a lot of e-cards and always use this site.
You can access it and see the cards for free!
http://www.jacquielawson.com/
There are quite a few cards where you have to do something for the card to work.
It's all English practise!
The first card that Jacquie Lawson designed is Christmas Cottage which is listed on this link - I hope you enjoy looking at it!
http://www.jacquielawson.com/cards_christmas.asp

Listening

2010-04-04T13:01:00.005+02:00

I have only just discovered this site and there are some excellent tests you can do.

The listening tests are particularly useful.

This is an area that most English learners struggle with!

If you are not used to this type of exercise, I recommend that you start with the simplest test which is PTE general 3 in the list.

http://www.examenglish.com/LTE/index.php

For more information about Pearson Tests for English look here:

http://www.examenglish.com/listening/index.html

A phonetic chart with exercises

2010-04-04T11:53:00.010+02:00

Here is a useful phonetic chart where you can hear all of the sounds* of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
* The rare sound in 'tour' is not included in this chart. Many people, including myself, say 'tour' the same as 'four' - /ɔ:/
http://www.stuff.co.uk/calcul_nd.htm

The quizzes are in the box next to the consonants.
Why not have a go?

I need you!

2010-03-26T07:34:00.000+01:00

Este blog es para el beneficio y uso de todos nosotros, por tanto, me gustaría contar con vuestra colaboración, para ello, necesito que me comuniquéis si hay algún enlace roto, si hay algo que no funciona bien, podéis preguntar y hacer sugerencias siempre que queráis, así como explicaciones que no se entienden bien o sobre el uso de este blog. Teniendo en cuenta que este sitio web es para el aprendizaje del inglés es interesante que lo pongáis en conocimiento de otros estudiantes, familiares o amigos que le pueda ser de utilidad.

Thanks to Meli for providing these words.

http://yoleoyoaprendo.com/

Using a thesaurus

2010-03-20T08:56:00.004+01:00

To improve your vocabulary, it's a good idea to use a thesaurus (sinónimos).
There is an excellent free one here:-
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/about_thesaurus.html

Here's how it works using 'sad' as the example.
use the dictionary
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/sad
read the descriptions of sad, choose the meaning you are interested in and click on the red 'T' below the entry.
'feeling unhappy, especially because something bad has happened'
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus/british/sad/sad_4/Feeling-sad-or-unhappy
'making you feel unhappy'
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus/british/sad/sad_11/Making-you-feel-sad-or-upset

English Grammar for Spanish speakers

2010-03-20T08:36:00.003+01:00

I believe it can be helpful to learn English grammar in your own language.
I learnt Spanish in secondary school and my teacher was English.
However we had Spanish oral classes with a native Spanish speaker.

There are quite a few English grammar books written in Spanish but the one that has been recommended to me by Spanish teachers of English is
'Gramática Inglesa' by Francisco Sánchez Benedito.

For details of the most recent edition:-
http://www.agapea.com/libros/Gramatica-Inglesa-9-Edicion-isbn-8498371139-i.htm

For information about Francisco Sánchez Benedito:-
http://webpersonal.uma.es/sanchezbenedito/inicio.html

I have recently bought this book to use in my classes.

Silly sentences or phrases 2 - memory aid

2010-03-16T09:05:00.032+01:00

If you find it difficult to remember the pronunciation and spelling of some words, make silly sentences or phrases!

As long as they mean something to YOU it doesn't matter how silly they seem!
Here are all the one's I've written so far-

I'm nearly always early for class.

Thirty thirsty boys are shouting at me!

The hungry hippo is angry, or even the angry hippo is hungry.

I don't mind the wind but I hate the rain.

The Teacher - idioms

2010-03-16T09:05:00.030+01:00

I love this series of videos from the BBC Learn English site!

I hope you do too!

These videos are excellent for learning idioms as they are visual and quite funny.

You will probably be able to remember some of the idioms even a few days after watching them.

The videos and scripts are downloadable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/

Life in Britain

2010-02-20T07:41:00.004+01:00

This is an excellent site presented by a junior school in Kent, South East England.

I have used it ever since I started to teach English.

http://www.projectbritain.com/

'The Woodlands Junior website contains fascinating facts and information about England, Scotland and Wales (Britain), in a way that is easy to read and to understand for people of all ages and cultures.'

The site contains information about:-

British Culture

The Making of The UK

Daily Life and Everyday needs

Education

Britain Today

Climate/Weather

How Britain is governed

The British Royal Family

Homophones and silly sentences

2010-02-09T08:16:00.043+01:00

What is a homophone?
Homophones are words that sound the same, but are spelt differently and mean different things.
eg: 'flower', 'flour'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/recognising/homophones/index.shtml

Here are a few 'silly sentences' that might help you remember the spelling and the meaning of these homophones.
I have used some of these with my students.
The mayor has a grey mare.
My uncle and aunt aren't very happy.
I write with my right hand.
I can see the sea.
Which witch is your mum?
He threw the hammer through the window.

Macmillan Dictionary

2010-02-09T08:01:00.017+01:00

Here's a conventional dictionary which has the advantage of pronunciation,the phonetic symbols and frequency (One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent).

I like this resource!
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/

TIP
If you want to compare how to say beer and bear, open two tabs and listen to one word and then the other.

How do you say?

2010-02-07T22:39:00.019+01:00

Finding British English dictionaries online, with pronunciation, is difficult.

However, this site is excellent.

http://www.howjsay.com/

Suppose you want to know how to pronounce a regular verb in the simple past and you don’t the rules (yes, there are SOME rules).

This is what you do:-

Type in walked and press submit.

Listen to the word which now appears, written in pink, in a list on the left.

To listen again move your mouse over the pink ‘walked’ but don’t click on it.

To hear it again move your mouse away from the word and then back over the word.

You will hear that the letter ‘l’ isn’t pronounced, that the ‘ed’ is not another syllable but a continuation of the previous syllable and that the ‘ed’ sounds like a ‘t’.

Try some words that are often pronounced incorrectly – builder, friend, fruit, chocolate, island.

How many syllables has chocolate got?

Words beginning with s, followed by certain consonants, are difficult for Spanish speakers to say well, so try these – school, stand, slow, speak. None of them start with an ‘e’ sound.

This dictionary also contains some proper names!

You can find out how to pronounce my first name, Sheila, for example.

If you’re a football fan, try listening to some football club names like Manchester United, Aston Villa and Birmingham (said in British English and American English).

The site is constantly being updated with more obscure words that might be useful for doctors, vets and dentists etc.
Here are a couple of examples:
laparascopically
gastrolavage
I don't know what they mean but I know how to say them!

Pronunciation and spelling

2010-01-30T12:45:00.009+01:00

What a strange language English is!

We say words with different spellings in the same way.

/wi:k/ = week and weak

We say words that are spelt the same in a different way.

/rəʊ/ and /raʊ/ = row

We have silent letters ANYWHERE in a word!

/kəʊm/ = comb
/eə(r)/ = heir
/raɪt/ = write
So how can you improve your listening and speaking?

By learning and using the phonetic alphabet.
Here is an introduction from the excellent BBC Leaning English site, explaining why phonetic knowledge is so useful.

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/pronunciation/mp4/pron_sounds.mp4

2010 - how to say it

2009-12-31T15:57:00.003+01:00

As the decade starts you will notice a change in how 2010 and subsequent years are said.

Since 2000 the long form has been used - two thousand, two thousand and one, two thousand and two etc.

As there is no central body like the Spanish RAE no written rules exist on how to say dates.

However, most people will say twenty ten, twenty eleven which follows the pattern of previous centuries.

According to this article the BBC has 'compliance rules' about how 2010 should be said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6897583/BBC-stars-discuss-how-to-pronounce-2010.html

Update

I was sure that I would say twenty ten but I find myself saying two thousand and ten!

Christmas traditions in Britain

2009-12-16T11:13:00.013+01:00

What is a mince pie?
What happens in a pantomime?
This excellent site, which I have recommended in previous posts, has an excellent section about all aspects of a Britsh Christmas.
The links in the left hand column take you to individual pages with short descriptions as well as clear photos.

http://projectbritain.com/Xmas/index.html

New grammar book seeks to 'unify' Spanish language

2009-12-16T11:05:00.000+01:00

Here's an article in English about the new Spanish grammar book.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8407231.stm

Interesting site for students studying in the UK

2009-12-16T10:46:00.001+01:00

A site aimed at overseas students studying in the UK.
Some of the information is out of date but it's still worth looking at.
The site is h ttp://www.ukstudentlife.com/index.htm

Spoken English from around the world

2009-12-03T20:09:00.006+01:00

If you want to hear accents from such countries as South Africa, Australia, Canada and the United States this is a good site.
http://www.soundcomparisons.com/

How to use the site
First check that you can hear the words by moving your mouse over or clicking on any of the words in blue*.

*Please note that the symbols used to represent the sounds are not from the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).
You should hear a message, 'The sounds is working'.
Then click on a word in the list on the right hand side of the screen.
You can hear the word in many different accents from different parts of England, Wales Scotland and Ireland as well as other English-speaking countries.
There is a big difference in how people from the north of England speak certain words compared to people from the south.
Try listening to words like - bath, blood, calf and right.

British accents

2009-12-01T21:43:00.007+01:00

This may be of interest if you need to hear accents from all over Britain

http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/index.shtml

Do you use a monolingual dictionary?

2009-11-27T08:09:00.008+01:00

I recommend anyone learning English to buy an ENGLISH only dictionary.
The one I use and recommend is 'Oxford Essential Dictionary' WITH CD-ROM IF you don't know much English vocabulary. For more advanced learners I will find and recommend a dictionary soon.
Do not be tempted to buy the edition without the CD-ROM as the CD-ROM is essential.
The dictionary section contains the British and American English pronunciation for all the entries and a picture and video dictionary.
The exercise section contains listening, problem words, KET and vocabulary exercises.
Finally the games section has 93 units of vocabulary with 10 words in each unit and various games to practise spelling and definitions.

The dictionary is available in Spain but it cheaper to buy online from either http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/ or http://www.play.com/
I recently ordered 7 copies of this dictionary from http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/ and the price was approximately 15€ each. Libreria Rayuela has it for 23.65€ http://www.libreriarayuela.com/

The reference number you need is ISBN 978-0-19431722-1

Are you confused how to pronounce bear and beer in English?

2009-11-26T13:14:00.003+01:00

This is an excellent true story if you want to practice the vowel sounds in 'beer' and 'bear'!
Many articles I use in class are excellent for learning vocabulary and pronunciation of the REGULAR verbs in the simple past tense.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3580626.stm

Typing phonemic symbols

2009-11-24T09:44:00.014+01:00

Quote
"You can use this tool to type phonemic symbols to be inserted in a word processor.
You can also use it to produce the code needed to insert phonemic symbols in a web page."

I use this a lot as it is easy to add to word or excel files I use for vocabulary lists.
I use the Lucida Sans Unicode font.
http://www.e-lang.co.uk/mackichan/call/pron/type.html

Where to buy English books

2009-11-24T09:41:00.003+01:00

These two sites offer FREE delivery worldwide!
You can find English learning books on both sites.
Currently http://www.play.com/ is more expensive than
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/
http://www.play.com/ also sells CDS, DVDS etc.

Online dictations

2009-11-23T11:34:00.004+01:00

If you need to practise listening skills this site is excellent.

It starts with very simple dictations which are a good place to begin if you aren't used to listening to English.

I haven't found many sites like this but I will keep searching on the internet!

http://dictationsonline.com/

The English alphabet

2009-11-20T15:09:00.020+01:00

Here's a fun way to learn or practice the names of the letters!
I have used this many times with children learning English and they really enjoy it.
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/kids/antics/index_obtree.html

In the autumn there will be a different link for this activity which I will post when it becomes available.

Why I set up this blog

2009-11-19T02:33:00.001+01:00

I am a self-employed and qualified British teacher who believes that there any many excellent web pages to help students with all aspects of English. Currently I send emails to my students with links that we have used in class. Although this is an excellent way of sharing links, it only reaches a few people. So................ I decided to set up this blog so that I can share links with many more people.
The links I post will be for British English. This is because British English is taught in schools in Spain.
As some of my students are as young as seven it is important that they see British spelling, British vocabulary and British pronunciation.
I will also recommend dictionaries or other books which I find useful and put links to British web pages where you can buy these books at excellent prices.
I hope you find this blog useful and that you share it with friends who are learning English.

One of my favourite sites - a bit of everything

2009-11-19T02:30:00.006+01:00

This site is one of the best!

I will post links to sections within this site at a later date, so for now explore and enjoy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/

Excellent site for vocabulary and pronunciation

2009-11-18T20:33:00.008+01:00

This website is designed for secondary education and Bachillerato students but some of the lexicon units (body, numbers and colours) are excellent for children in primary education.

http://clicknlearn.net/