A first date gone wrong

The "Brotha" compilation

Beauty without brains

A Mercedes-Benz E-Class commercial.

A good and a bad job interview

An example of what not to do during a job interview compared to a good job interview.

Are you obsessed with 'Lost'?

If you were wondering whether you might be a bit too obsessed with this particular show, watch this video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FacsgMQS4Ms&feature=related

Indirect Questions Review

This is going to be a very simple bit of homework which will help you review indirect questions.

On the right-hand column of the 'Home' page you can see a BBC link at the very bottom. Click on 'Indirect Questions' and do the quiz.

This is also a good time to explore this wonderful website, which includes activities to practise grammar, vocabulary, idioms, pronunciation, etc. There are videos, exercises and podcasts to download and take with you:

There is a special section on business English called 'Business Language to go' which can be especially useful for those of you studying Economics, Business Administration and the like. It looks at vocabulary and phrases used in typical business situations, for example, meetings, dealing with customers, job interviews, etc., and you can improve your listening skills at the same time!

There is also a business English course - Talking English - which gives you useful language and phrases to improve your spoken communication skills in English in different business situations. Each section features audio, target language and a quiz - all of which are downloadable. You can also practise and test your understanding of the language.
So, no excuses, get down to work!

Europe's deep freeze

Here is a link to a video about the weather in Europe:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34795620#34795620http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/34795620#34795620
Watch it and answer the following questions:

1. What are some of the consequences of heavy snow?
2. What are British winters usually like?
3. What's the temperature in Norway?
4. What are these Dutch skaters doing?
5. What about Paris? How do people feel about the city being covered in snow?
6. What are some of the problems in Germany?
7. Is the weather going to change?

C-test practice link

For those of you already worrying about your final exam, here is a link to practice C-tests:

http://simtestprv.uab.es/ctestpractice/

Writing Correction

Here are some sentences from your writings for you to correct:

1. It’s really good news knowing that you are going to come in May.
2. Now you have to be relaxed and don’t think about other stuff.
3. I hope that he would have good luck.
4. I’m look forward news.
5. I have been in London during the Christmas holiday. It was great.
6. The doctors said to me that I had to operate me.
7. We have a free bedroom, so that we will visit the town when we can.
8. Besides I’m ill, I’m fine.

Grammar Link

Here is a link to a very useful grammar page where you can review use of tenses, gerunds and infinitives, etc.
It's especially useful for those of you with a weak result in the grammar section of the Christmas 'take home' exam, but good for revision prurposes at any time:

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/StudyZone/grammar.htm


There are grammar explanations and useful exercises that you can do on your own, and some other sections worth checking out.

Interesting links

Here are some interesting links to practice specific things:

• Tenses: http://esl.about.com/od/englishgrammar/a/tense_resource.htm

• Collocations with verbs like 'take', 'bring', etc: http://esl.about.com/b/2003/10/29/collocations.htm

• Phrasal verbs: http://esl.about.com/od/engilshvocabulary/p/phrasalverbs.htm

The Notting Hill Carnival

Carnival is coming up. Not only in Rio, Venice or New Orleans, but also in the UK. This year, Notting Hill Carnival is going to be the biggest carnival in Europe. It's a shame it's in August, though. Here is a link with information about this year's programme just in case you feel like spending a weekend in London:

http://www.thenottinghillcarnival.com/

What you can do in the meantime to keep your English updated and have a taste of this British carnival is to check the following webpage, with all kinds of interesting tasks and activities related to the Notting Hill Carnival:

http://formation.paysdelaloire.iufm.fr/ressources/plc/anglais/nothill/index.htm

Paper, Rock & Scissors

see more Political Pictures

Improve your English with songs

Lyrics Training is an easy and fun method to learn and improve your English through the music and lyrics of songs.

There are different levels, but I would try 'Intermediate' to start with. Here is the link:

http://www.lyricstraining.com/

Pronunciation Link

Here is a BBC link which will be very useful to improve your pronunciation in English. It's got videos, quizzes, exercises...

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

Why don't you get started by trying a quiz?

Crime Vocabulary

Here is a podcast from the BBC that will help you review crime vocabulary. Listen to it and do the different tasks.


Prison restaurant.mp3

Free audio books

Another way to improve your English is to listen to books while you are driving or doing sport. There are different websites where you can get audio books, but these two are quite good:

http://www.blogger.com/booksshouldbefree.com or http://www.audioowl.com/

They are free, you just have to download them to you ipod and you are ready to go!

We all know how tricky prepositions are in English... for example, do we say 'log in' or 'log on'? Here is a page from Kenneth Beare's wonderful website to help you with prepositions. There are quizzes and lots of useful stuff.

Animal rights in Switzerland

Banning bullfighting is all very well, but should animals be provided with lawyers? Believe it or not, the Swiss have just had a referendum to decide on this issue. Read this interesting article in BBC News.

Since 2008, the Swiss have had a very civilised set of laws to protect animal rights: anglers have to learn how to catch fish humanely, dog owners are required to take a course, etc. Check out the following page for more information on animal legislation in Switzerland - it's worth a look for those of us who are still in the Stone Age of animal rights - but, is it too much?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3818457.ece

Information about final exam

Here is a webpage where you'll find information about the different parts of the final exam together with practical examples and exercises that you can use to get more familiar with the exam:

http://webs2002.uab.es/suab244w/ex-intro.html

Listening Practice

Here are some webpages to practice your listening skills for the final exam. These are mainly news pages with very short news items:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/video_and_audio/news_summary/8070822.stm

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

Some American English, might come in handy, as well; Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab has lots of stuff:

http://www.esl-lab.com/

And for some practice with advertisements, check out this webpage:

http://www.advertisementave.com/

Would you ever lie on your resume?

Maybe it's just a few 'white lies' or just 'stretching the truth' a little bit...
Maybe you are applying for the job you've always wanted, and you know that companies do not always check the references and you are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job.

What do you think, is it ethical? is it worth taking the risk?