Listening practice: Ninemsn Video

Hi all,

Here's a useful link for you to improve your listening skills:

ninemsn video

Try to focus on those news reports that are about 3-5 minutes long and that are not too specialized, and allow a maximum of three times per recording. I'd strongly recommend that you listened to, at least, a couple of them each day.

Also, if you roll your mouse over the NEWS menu, you'll see that there are many other sources to choose from (e.g. 60 minutes, A Current Affair, etc.). Choose the one that best suits your needs and interests.

Hope this is useful.

Module 12. Bloopers

Have you ever made a blooper? Well, we ALL do from time to time. Who doesn't?

Hang on... Let me guess. You don't know what bloopers are, do you? No problem. Just have a look at the following "BBC newsreader bloopers" and try to guess what they are. As usual, you can use the Comments section to post your answer, in case you got a good one.



Did you find the answer yet? I bet you did. You can listen to more bloopers at http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/fungames/bloopers.shtml

Fun stuff: 'Terminator'

QUESTIONS:

1. Which object(s) does Terminator want from the Three Wise Men?
2. What were the Romans going to do with Jesus?
3. What does Terminator mean when he calls Jesus a 'glutton for punishment'?
4. Which of God's Ten Commandments is Terminator breaking?
5. Why does Jesus ask for Terminator's forgiveness?
6. 'Thou shall not miss this movie'. What's the modern word for 'thou'?
7. 'Pontius Pilatus at ten o'clock!'. What does this mean? In which context is this expression commonly used?
8. Can you identify two predictions made by Terminator using 'going to' and 'will'?

* Notice the use of 'question tags' ('You just don't get it, do you?'), passive voice ('I'm supposed to die for the sins of the mankind')

Activity by Sergio Viñals

Fun stuff: Celebrity Spanglish

Do you speak... Spanglish? Hope you don't. Fortunately, all of you speak much better than the celebrities below. Click on the links to listen to them:

Jabo Irureta's Spanglish
Jose María García's Spanglish

Listening practice: The Pirate Bay

Just watch the video and try to understand :)

Movie trailers: Planet 51

Module 06. Listening: And the Oscar goes to...

... Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona!

She got it. The 2009 Oscar award for best supporting actress belongs to our Pe.
She well deserves the award because she is an extraordinary actress and she has offered us memorable performances like her unforgettable Raimunda in Almodovar's Volver.

In the ceremony, she looked classy, gorgeous, extremely elegant and so nervous that her voice quivered as she delivered her heartfelt beautiful speech. Don't miss her speech, watch the video and listen to it: it's moving, intelligent and really good:



Pay attention to Pe's pronunciation. Is there anything you think she should improve?

Now, read the transcript and try to explain the meaning of the words in bold:

'This is not going to be 45 seconds, I can say that right now. Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one. Thank you so much to the Academy. I want to share this with my fellow nominees and with the amazing ensemble of actors that I had the privilege to work with in this movie. Thank you, Woody, for trusting me with this beautiful character. Thank for you having written over all these years some of the greatest characters for women. And I cannot talk about great female characters without thanking my friend Pedro Almodovar for having made me part of so many of his adventures. Thank you, Bigas Luna, Fernando Trueba, for giving me my first movies. Thank you, Harvey Weinstein. I wanted to dedicate this to my parents and to my brother and sister, to my friend Robert Carlo, who is not with us anymore, and to everyone who has helped me from the beginning and you know who you are and I thank you from my heart.

I grew up in a place called Alcobendas, where this was not a very realistic dream. And I, always on the night of the Academy Awards, I stay up to watch the show and I always felt that this was, this ceremony was a moment of unity for the world because art, in any form, is and has been and will always be our universal language and we should do everything we can, everything we can, to protect its survival. So I thank you so much and I have to say something in Spanish, because everyone... [SPANISH PART]

Taken and adapted from ESL Bloggers

Module 06. Listening: Miriam Makeba dead at 76

Part 1


Part 2

Module 06. Song review: If you were a sailboat (by Katie Melua)

Katie Melua, a British-Georgian singer, songwriter and musician, is giving a concert in the next edition of the 'Mar de Músicas' Festival. Although Katie is still not very popular in Spain, she was the United Kingdom's biggest-selling female artist in 2006.

You have been asked to write a review about Katie Melua's best-known song, 'If you were a sailboat', which you will have the chance to listen to live when you attend Melua's concert next summer. You have decided to watch the video on youtube.com first:



TASK
1. Watch the video and, if necessary, look at the lyrics to make sure you fully understood the song.
2. Write a short review of 'If I were a sailboat'. Include information about the artist, the style, what the song is about and your personal opinion about the song (e.g. did you like the song? would you recommend it?)

OPTIONAL TASK
A local radio station in Cartagena is offering free tickets for Katie Melua's next concert in the 'Mar de Músicas' Festival next summer. All you have to do is re-write the first verse of 'If you were a sailboat' using your own alternative lyrics. Katie will sing the best alternative lyrics live on the radio!

Here's some funny samples sent in by some listeners (ie. students) so far.
"If you were some tiling(1) I would grout(2) you
If you were a rule book I would flout(3) you all the same
If you were a football you would be my favourite game"

(1) tiling: square, flat pieces of clay used to cover the floor.
(2) to grout: to fill in the spaces between tiles using a mixture of sand, water and cement.
(3) to flout: to deliberately not follow a rule, order or law.

Module 05. Listening: Amazon Kindle

I want one of these! What about you?

Resources: www.yappr.com

Practise and learn English in a funny way with entertaining videos at www.yappr.com.

Sign-up is not required, although it's free and quite interesting. Just click on the 'videos' button, choose your level (intermediate/difficult) and watch the videos with/without English and/or Spanish subtitles. You choose.

Highly recommended!

Extra Listening: Day After Christmas Shopping At Monroeville Mall

According to the reporter, what brings shoppers to the mall the day after Christmas? (triple-click the line below to see the answer)
Apart from the super-sales, the opportunity to return the 'not-so-perfect' presents.

Module 03. Video: Vick's Dogs in rehab

Script

Module 02. Education: Modern Cheating Methods

(triple-click on the blank spaces for key)

1. What common high-tech cheating procedures does Kim Clark mention?
Apart from copying & pasting from Wikipedia and similar pages, students scan Coca-cola labels with the nutritional information, and manipulate them with Photoshop so that the teacher does not realize they have copied it.
2. At what levels does hi-tech cheating usually occur?
Usually at high-school level, more than at a college level, where students are less likely to cheat (as they are paying for their studies, cheating is considered nonsense)
3. What percentage of current students have admitted to cheating at least once in their lives?
40%
4. What was the percentage of cheating students back in the 1940s?
Only about 20%
5. What is the main reason why hi-tech cheating has increased in recent years?
Students are so good at technology that it's very tempting to take out a cell phone, hide behind another student and use it to cheat. They can store lots of books and extra stuff and use them in exams.
6. What are educators doing in order to fight hi-tech cheating?
They are also using technology. For instance, the use of special software that electronically compares papers that are sent by the students so that they cannot steal ideas from other documents.
7. Who is winning this ‘war’, educators or students?
Professors and educators are.
8. What methods are being used in order to control cheating in online tests?
They are using webcams to control online cheating, software to block internet access to other websites while taking the exams, etc.
9. According to researchers, what is one of the reasons why students cheat?
Students find tests boring and tests are not really reflective of the real world.
10. What suggestion is made in order to prevent students from cheating?
To design more realistic tests so that students enjoy the tasks.

Module 02. Education: US Presidential Debate

Module 02. Extra: Job Hunting

Listen to this conversation and choose the right option:

1. In which field is the man looking for a job?
A. education
B. medicine
C. technology

2. Which statement best describes the pay for the job?

A. Employees can receive periodic pay increases based on their work.

B. The salary for the position is above the industry average.

C. Workers are paid on a commission basis depending their sales.

3. What are some of the benefits that the company provides?

A. insurance, paid vacation, and a company vehicle

B. paid vacation, opportunities for promotion, and insurance

C. opportunities for advancement, insurance, and a free bus pass

4. What does the future hold for the industry that he is considering?

A. growing, yet uncertain
B. expanding and secure 

C. contracting, yet stable

5. From the conversation, what do we know about the man's educational background?

A. He dropped out of high school.

B. He has some post-secondary education.
C. He has a college degree.

Listen and read along the script and find a word that matches these definitions:

- find a job: ________________
- kind, type: ________________
- fair, sensible:________________
- make, bring in: ________________
- finally, after a period of time: ________________
- information that will help you find a solution to a problem or situation: ________________
- improve or get better: ________________
- used when summarizing something in a very short, clear way: ________________
- growing rapidly: ________________
- give, supply or furnish: ________________
- growing suddenly: ________________

Extra: Listening Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship

Watch the following video and answer the questions below:




Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience



QUESTIONS:



1.Why has Obama participated in a presidential internship?

2. What's Obama's biggest weakness according to voters?

3. When will he ready to lead the US?

4. What has he done during his internship?

5. Has he signed up for an online course?



Activity courtesy of Carmen Saura. Idea by Anton Maojo

Module 01. Lifestyles. What are the French like?

Watch the video about people describing the French. Then answer do the activities below:



1. Explain the meaning of the following words. Use a dictionary if necessary:
stuck-up - stand-offish - snobbiness - dour - chic - laid back - amiable

2. What would you answer if you were asked to explain what the French are like? Transcribe your answer as if it was a real interview.

3. What are the Spaniards like?

Module 01. Lifestyles. Jenna Fischer Video

Watch the following video about Jenna Fischer, an American actress, and answer the questions below:



1. When does Jenna feel most comfortable?
2. What's her secret for being so beautiful?
3. What's the most beautiful city she's ever been to? What was she doing there?
4. What does Jenna like the most about people?

Use the Comments section to make notes of as much extra information as you may have understood.

Online radio stations

Hi everybody!

In case you want to improve your English by listening to real radio stations, here are some useful links:

Radio Vaughan is an online radio station in English, especially recommended for English learners. It deals with a great variety of topics, and there are also interviews, English lessons and reflections upon the English language. Radio Vaughan also releases their programmes in MP3 format so that you can practice anywhere, any time... :)

Spectrum FM / REM fm is another radio station in English that can be tuned in most areas of the Costa Calida (92.7). Of course, you can also listen to the station online.

I'm sure there are some other local stations in English. I'll let you know when I remember their names! :)

Hope you enjoy them.