lovely spelling song

words related to people and family in a beautiful song

 

Monologue: LEARNING

Get inspiration here:
https://passyourspeakinglevelb2.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/topic-3-learning-languages/

QUESTIONS ABOUT TRAVEL

What’s the best way to find deals on travel?

If you had to immigrate to another country, where would you go? Why?

What is the stereotype of your nation’s citizens?

Do you usually travel light?

Do you like packaged holiday tours?

Do you prefer visiting places which are off the beaten tracks?

“When in Rome, do as the Romans” — do you agree with this idea?

If you could only pack five things for a trip to an unknown place, what would you take?

Is there a place that you’d never visit again?

What are some common travel scams? Have you been the victim of a travel scam?
What do you think of tacky souvenirs?

VOLUNTEERING: vocabulary

Volunteering vocabulary by Marion Meudt, Nova Scotia de English Online Inc.

Not everyone is wired...

Expanding your vocabulary

Please have a look at all these "synonyms". They might be helpful to expand your vocabulary in the advanced level. Make sure you check the ones you don't know and bear in mind that some of them are rather colloquial.

Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day

Hi there!

Here you are a video in which a really kind teacher explains things about St. Patrick's Day such as culture and expressions.

Watch the video and then go to an Irish pub to have a pint and celebrate it properly ;)

Enjoy,
Leticia.

Economic Crisis collocations

Dear NA2 students,

Here you are a text with useful expressions to deal with the economic crisis.

Enjoy!
Leticia

How are you coping in the current economic climate? Tim Bowen is here to help with a shower of collocations.

The millions of people who were shivering as Europe experienced one of its coldest ever winters might be forgiven for thinking that climate change is happening in reverse. Even areas that normally enjoy a mild or temperate climate experienced, albeit briefly, the kind of harsh climate that exists in less hospitable regions of the globe.

Away from the world of temperature and weather conditions, climate can also be used to refer to people’s attitudes at a particular time. Such references can be in a particular area, such as the business, economic, financial, moral or political climate, as in ‘In the current difficult economic climate, small firms are finding it increasingly difficult to raise capital’, or they may refer to the present time, as in the current, present or prevailing climate.

A climate may be conducive or favourable, as in ‘The prevailing business climate is not conducive to start-up enterprises of this type’ and can be created or fostered, as in ‘The government aims to foster a climate in which small businesses can prosper’.

A number of nouns with negative connotations such as distrust, fear, hostility, hysteria, suspicion and uncertainty can follow climate in phrases like a climate of fear and a climate of suspicion, as in ‘The government’s policies are simply contributing to the climate of distrust that prevails in the country’.

In a similar way, climate can be followed by positive nouns such as trust, openness and tolerance, as in ‘We aim to create a climate of tolerance in which people can coexist without fear or prejudice’.

from: http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/your-english/collocations/your-english-collocations-climate/551902.article

Instructions are no hell!

Out of the box from Vitamins on Vimeo.

Numbers

Hi NI1 students!

Here you are some links where you can practice numbers.


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

http://esl.about.com/library/listening/blnumbers1.htm

http://ww2.college-em.qc.ca/prof/epritchard/numbers.html

Have fun!

Weather Report

Hi NI1 students!

Here you are a weather report. Listen to the tenses!

Happy Hump Day

Hi everyone!

On Wednesday, people say 'Happy Hump Day" which implies that the week is like a hill and when you're over the hump - that is the highest part- you're closer to the end of it.

To put it in a nutshell: the weekend is closer!

Hump as a slang meaning too... it's up to you if you want to find it out! I you feel like doing so, go to the SLANG DICTIONARY link on the left.

Happy Hump Day!

Family issues

Dear NA2 students,

Please have a look at the article below and match the definitions with the words in blue
(source: http://www.examiner.com)

Family is a concept which has become increasing difficult to define. The idea of what a family is can differ from person to person. There was a time when a family was strictly defined as two parents (mother and father), their biological children, and extended relatives. Today, the family dynamic is considerably more complicated and its boundaries can seem endless.

If one were to open photo albums of a dozen families in 1955, and compare them to families in 2009; there would be a considerably different look to the individuals and the roles they play. Step-parents are almost as numerous as biological parents. Step-siblings, half-siblings, and all the corresponding relationships and associations, can be overwhelming and confusing. There may be difficulty in finding a name for some of the relationships due to the newness of the phenomenon of the blended family. There may be a great deal of confusion surrounding the new idea of family. For instance, what does an adult child call their new relatives? How far-reaching do these new extended relationships go? Extended family can include step-grandparents, step-aunts and uncles. How is an adult child supposed to refer to the mother of their half-siblings? There is no limit to the possibility for confusion and discomfort.

Adult children may find these transitions and new relationships especially difficult to absorb and integrate into their lives. They may have their own families and a full spectrum of activities and issues to deal with. Parents divorcing and dating others can be difficult for adult children to accept or understand. Remarriage can bring extreme feelings as well. Add to that, half-siblings, who are as young as their own children, can be a source of embarrassment or resentment. The ability to accept a remarriage after the death of a parent, and the subsequent introduction of step-siblings may seem impossible. Not having grown up with step-siblings can make them feel like complete strangers, who are suddenly expected to be a family.

Whether it is through divorce and remarriage, or the death of a parent; adult children may feel resentful and disconnected from their parent and the new spouse. Being an adult does not insulate one entirely from the complicated feelings and mixed-emotions which accompany these situations. It may be painful to discuss feelings with family members; and the desire to avoid the new family dynamic may cause rifts or periods of no communication. In some cases, this need for distance can alleviate itself. Time and space is often necessary for adult children to adjust to the new environment. Each person and each family will have their own way to handle and cope with familial changes.

Becoming a step-grandparent can present its own difficulties as well. When adult children marry a person with children, it can be uneasy for the children and the adults to forge the role of step-grandparent. As with most situations, honest discussion and sincere kindness can help to work through the initial period of awkwardness, and transition beautifully into a loving relationship.

Parents of adult children should reach out with love and honesty to with their children, and step-children, and find ways to blend the families reasonably and sensibly for all concerned. There are resources and literature on the subject; and professional counseling may be beneficial for those who are experiencing prolonged detachment from their family members.

DEFINITIONS
1. a social unit consisting of two previously married parents and the children of their former marriages

2. an open break in a prevhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7496744729898497750iously friendly relationship

3. a feeling of anger due to a real or imagined injury or offense.

4. a line or something else that marks a limit or border.

5. to make (something false) or imitate (something genuine) for purposes of deception or fraud; esp., to counterfeit (a check, signature, etc.)

6. astonishing

7. to make something easier to deal with or endure

8. clumsiness or embarassement

9. having a wide range, extent, influence, or effect

10. to set apart; detach from the rest; isolate or separate

You can check your definitions in this dictionary. Also, you can listen to the words!

http://www.yourdictionary.com

Hashtags

What Are Hashtags ("#" Symbols)?


Definition: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.

Hashtags: helping you find interesting Tweets

People use the hashtag symbol # before relevant keywords in their Tweet to categorize those Tweets to show more easily in Twitter Search.

Clicking on a hashtagged word in any message shows you all other Tweets in that category.

Hashtags can occur anywhere in the Tweet.

Hashtagged words that become very popular are often Trending Topics.

Example: Below, @VegNews added the hashtag before the word "vegan" in their message. The word is now a link to search results for all Tweets containing "#vegan" in the message.


Using hashtags

If Tweet with a hashtag on a public account, anyone who does a search for that hashtag may find your Tweet.

Don't #spam #with #hashtags. Don't over-tag a single Tweet. (Best practices recommend using no more than 3 hashtags per Tweet.)

Use hashtags only on Tweets relevant to the topic.

Further Discovery and Reading

The third party site hashtags.org offers an overview of popular hashtags used on Twitter. Find out about trends, look at small, pretty graphs, and search to see if the hashtags of your fantasies exist.

You may also want to read this article about hashtags, which appeared in The New Yorker magazine.


from: http://support.twitter.com/articles/49309-what-are-hashtags-symbols

The time

Dear NB1 students,

here you are a video to listen and practice telling the time in English.



Enjoy!

Learn English and Donate Food

Hi there!

Would you like to learn English and feed hungry people at the same time?

Go this website and answer questions about English. For every correct answer 10 grains of rice are donated to the World Food Programme.

Have a nice day,
Leticia.

The Body

Dear Students,

Marta has found a very interesting blog where you can practice language about

THE BODY

You can hear the words pronounced.

Thank you!

The Latest Weather Report

Dear B2 students,

Here you are a really charming 1950's video on weather forecasts.



You can practice and learn vocabulary such as:
haze
overcast
below zero
chance of...
risk of ...
fair
freezing
partly cloudy
cool
mild

Don't forget to use the dictionary!

English Idioms

Dear Students,

Here you are some links to learn English idioms. Copy the links and paste them in a new window.

Have a nice weekend!

http://www.mailxmail.com/curso-ingles-para-espanoles-pronunciacion-1/dichos-refranes-proverbios-modismos-ingles

http://www.tamiu.edu/engl4347/grp9/dichos2.html